World of Twilight
by BenignUser
Summary: Episode 13 AU. When Hikari was taken by the minions of the dark ocean, the Chosen's attempts to find her were met with a closed digital gate. Now their only hope is the runaway boy in the digital world desperate to fulfil his role as the Digimon Kaiser.
1. Games and Reality

Date Started: October 1st, 2008  
Date Finished: October 6th, 2008

* * *

Summary_: It was a day meant to be experienced only by Hope and Light. Instead the Digital Gate remains closed, Hikari has been taken by the Dark God, and Oikawa is stirring. In the meantime the Kaiser's reign is threatened by strange shadows from another world..._

* * *

World of Twilight

Chapter 1 – Games and Reality

_The sun was beginning to set. Waves angrily clashed against the shore, roaring into the mist of salt-sea air. Standing atop the cliff, feeling lost and dazed, Takeru continued to shout her name. His partner Patamon floated nearby and did likewise._

"_Hikari-chan!" He called out to her._

"_Hikari!" His partner mimicked._

_Crimson spread about the sky. The deities were laughing at him, letting him know that she was gone and spreading her blood above the heavens. They intended to let him fully understand her chosen fate. And to understand that he was helpless to change it._

_But he wouldn't give up. She was out there somewhere, Takeru was sure of that, and he would find her one day. And he would definitely save her._

"_Hikari-chan!" He desperately tried again._

_Patamon was silent this time around._

"_Oi! __Takeru… she's not here." That wasn't Patamon._

_The blond boy turned around, his eyes falling upon Motomiya Daisuke standing a ways behind him. He ignored him, turning back towards the furious waves of the ocean, and screamed for her again._

"_She's not here, damn it!" Daisuke cursed at him._

"_The beach…"_

"_Forget the beach," Daisuke said, "The Digital Gate is closed. Miyako called Koushiro-san over; they're trying to work it out right now. Last I heard it was still locked, so if Hikari-chan is in the Digital World we can't reach her right now; whatever took her made damn sure we can't follow."_

"_She's not in the Digital World," Takeru shot back._

_Daisuke's eyes were downcast, "Even so… you're not doing us any good over here, and I think it's time we told Taichi-san about this."_

* * *

The computer console presented him with a grid – the map of the Digital World. The grids were color-coded black-and-white: black under his control, and white under the control of the Chosen. The Kaiser continued to punch in each new segment of code on his keypad, mellowing on his self-made throne in solitude and silence. As long as there were more black than white on the board he was winning this game of conquest, and as each line of code appeared above the console, it directly affected the grid. One by one the previously white segments were being brought under his control, and each new occupation brought him one step closer towards victory – towards complete and utter control of the Digital World.

He paused briefly, his fingers gliding over the keypad to his side, their tips barely brushing against its metallic surface. It had been three days already, he reflected, and there were still no further attempts at resistance. What had happened to his opponents? Why had the Chosen not made their next move? Where had the challenge gone?

Less than a quarter of the map contained white spaces now, and he was getting impatient. There was nobody to gloat to. It was all shallow to him; what was the point of victory if there was no one to suffer defeat? It was impossible for this world to keep him further entertained without the Chosen around. He frowned bitterly at the realization.

"What's troubling you, Ken?"

The Kaiser turned to face the intrusion, letting his arm dangle away from the keypad and his eyes gaze away from the console screen. He dismissed the insect's concern with a wave of his hand, "I grow bored of this. Without an opponent, conquering the Digital World is too trivial – it is of no difficulty at all."

"I'm sure they will arrive eventually," Wormmon spoke, trying to appease his partner with a prospect to look forward to.

"It's pointless to wait; they've come every day prior to this."

"Perhaps they've been caught up with things in the real world," Wormmon offered an explanation, straining to remember the things Ken constantly muttered about that kept him busy in his home world. "School work, family matters… club activities, for instance."

The Kaiser sighed in irritation, "Keep your worthless ramblings to yourself."

"I'm sorry, Ken."

"Leave me be, insect, you're beginning to annoy me," He rose to his feet, towering over the worm.

"Ken–"

"This whole world is, in fact," the Kaiser interrupted him. He walked past the green Digimon and left the main control room towards the television inside his floating fortress that contained access to the Digital Gate. "I'm heading home. I'm going to find out exactly why they decided to abandon this world."

He dusted off the screen; he'd been away from the real world for far too long. He began to reach for his Digivice, pitch black in his hand, and presented it to the television screen. He was prepared to open the Gate and leave this primitive world behind, but everything stopped at the last second. His body had frozen stiff, his eyes went wide in shock; the Kaiser stared at the display before him. The Digital Gate was closed – locked shut.

It came as a swift realization. The Chosen hadn't abandoned the Digital World. They were locked out of it. The rules of their game had somehow changed without his knowledge.

There was a new goal to victory now. And it definitely brought more realism and difficulty to this virtual world of his. But for the Kaiser this wasn't a welcome change, for with this realism came something he had never before experienced in the Digital World. With it, came his awareness of fear.

"Ken?"

He had to escape.

* * *

Ken slept in a seated position on his control console after giving in to the fatigue that interrupted his analysis of the Digital Gate the previous night. This had become a common occurrence in recent days. Almost a week had passed since he discovered the Digital Gate had closed, jailing him inside the very world he had set out to conquer. He wasn't giving up. Conquest had once been the challenge he came for; now this world was presenting him a new challenge to overcome – and he would overcome it. Of that he was certain.

His eyes flickered open and his tired eyes glazed over to a small blinking light on his monitor. Even in his still drowsy state he recognized that something wasn't right. The blinking light stared back at him from its place on the digitized map of the current world.

It flashed white, and then flickered off to black. Again the process repeated: flash of white, flicker to black.

With the cobwebs finally shaken off, the Kaiser's eyes narrowed towards the screen. It was signaling that a new area had been occupied with one of his dark towers. Normally that would've been good news, but he had been working on re-opening the Gate ever since he found it shut. How had a tower been erected without him? The worm!

"Wormmon! Get in here!"

The green insect scuttled over to the Kaiser almost instantly, "You bellowed?"

Human hands pointed towards the console screen. The black and white lights still flickered. "Is that your doing? Explain yourself!"

Wormmon looked towards the pointed object, the lights immediately catching his attention. He frowned at his human partner, showing disappointment in what he saw. "You've resumed conquering the Digital World?"

The Kaiser growled at him, "Idiot. I have not, which is why I'm asking you how that area had one of my dark towers magically appear overnight. I certainly didn't do it. What's your explanation?"

"Maybe you were sleepwalking?" the Digimon offered.

Ken massaged his forehead, and mumbled, "Pathetic. You're useless."

"I'm sorry, Ken."

The Kaiser ignored him. He thought hard; his eyes gazed once more over the digital map. He spoke, "I want to know how that got there… If I didn't do it, and you didn't... come along worm, we're heading over there to investigate."

Wormmon followed in step as his partner left the control room and moved down the halls towards the nearest exit. An Airdramon waited for them, hovering in the air as the new doorway materialized for them through the walls of the floating fortress. The Kaiser mounted it confidently. Wormmon struggled to secure his footing.

The flight towards the dark tower had been painfully slow. It was placed in a rather remote and strategically useless area in a far out desert. That was one of the key reasons the Kaiser had never bothered to conquer the area in the first place. He strained his eyes, coolly standing atop the Airdramon's skull-framed head, and could faintly make out the tower in question. It was definitely there, meaning it hadn't been a fault with his computer system. But how exactly did the dark tower spring up from out of nowhere? Was Wormmon correct, had he started sleepwalking from the stress of not being able to reopen the Digital Gate? Ken shook his head; he couldn't believe that. It wasn't possible for someone of his caliber.

The Airdramon descended by the tower, and the pair dismounted. Ken marched towards the obelisk in question. He stood in front of it, Wormmon by his legs, and extended an arm towards it, as if to feel for the object – if only to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. His hands touched physical material. The dark tower was really there. But something was off.

He glanced at the tower, then towards his Digivice in the other hand, and then again back at the tower. The readings weren't proper. This tower wasn't enhancing his control, and it wasn't controlling the ringed Digimon in the area. In short, it wasn't working as it was designed. And that could only mean one thing.

"It's a fake," Ken announced.

"A fake?" Wormmon queried.

"Airdramon," the Kaiser commanded, ignoring the worm, "I order you to destroy it."

The dragon howled in response. It flailed its wings against the wind; it's slithery form rising into the air. With a roar it unleashed a beam of energy from its lips that blazed towards the false contraption. The tower exploded in a flash of light, dematerializing into particles of data rather than toppling over as usual. It was most definitely a fake.

It was then that something unexpected occurred. A ray of pink light descended from the sky, covering the exact location the false tower had once stood. The Kaiser growled; someone was toying with him.

Wormmon gasped, staring into the light, "Ken… such power."

That served to catch the human's attention, "Power?"

A shadow figure formed in front of the light, interrupting any further response from the Digimon. "It would be in your best interest to leave at once, false God."

Ken's eyes narrowed, "And what exactly are you to dare give commands to the Digimon Kaiser?"

"The God of the Dark Ocean has deemed you unfit for further rule," the shadow responded, "I am but a servant for the great one… but in his name I request you give up this plane of existence, for our Lord has great interest in conquering it."

The Kaiser laughed, "Give up the Digital World? You're not the first to ask this of me, and I assure you I have no intention of doing so. You want to conquer this world? Be my guest, but you'll find that a fight in my garden will not grant you an easy victory."

"Ken," Wormmon spoke, "We should go…"

"Leave then, coward."

"You would be wise to listen to your partner," the shadow said, "Our God has great plans for you, false one."

The Kaiser stared angrily, "Plans for me, eh?"

He snapped his fingers, out of the ground beneath the shadow figure exploded two ringed Meramon. Under the Kaiser's control, they each grabbed onto what looked to be the arm appendage of the shadow being, keeping it in place for their master.

Ken marched towards it with an arrogant smirk, "Tell me, servant, what does your master have planned?"

He could see the darkness evaporating from the shadow creature from where the twin Meramon held their grasps. So, Ken took notice, they could indeed burn. He felt a presence near his feet; Wormmon looked on cautiously.

"You underestimate us, false one," the shadow said, "Soon our Lord will have an army – an army birthed of darkness and light that will lay sunder to this world. And with our own towers we will open gateways to even further worlds to conquer. You are but a mere stepping stone for our God."

"Pathetic," the Kaiser responded, "Bring me your army. I will destroy and enslave every last one of them."

The idea suddenly struck. Was this thing a Digimon? Could it be ringed? If not, would the dark spiral work instead? Ken certainly intended to find out.

"Soon, false one," the shadow spoke, "The Child of Light will give us our army. Very soon."

Wormmon gasped from his place down by his feet; Ken's eyes widened. The Child of Light? The Chosen Children… had they fallen to these beasts? He needed answers; he tested the shade.

"Speak," Ken commanded, "Who is the Child of Light? How does she fall into all this with your army?"

The shadow creature laughed. It was a coarse laugh that pierced right through Ken's ears. "She belongs to our God now; she will produce our army of darkness and light; for she is our concubine."

So it was indeed the girl. The Kaiser roared in anger, "Where is she?"

"In the world of shadow, with the true God."

Eyes slit, Ken reached behind his cape. No more games, no tests with the dark rings. It would be the spiral for this one. He would find out everything, and this pathetic creature would be the one to tell him. He fingered the spiral in his hand and then threw it towards the creature. To his horror it phased right through the shadowy form, landing atop the soft sand behind it.

"Ken, let's leave," Wormmon said hurriedly.

A shriek appeared from behind them, interrupting whatever else Ken had planned on saying. He twirled around, and saw many more of the shadow creatures. They leaped and pounced upon his enslaved Airdramon, engulfing it with darkness. The creatures appeared to phase into the Digimon, as their shadows sprouted from their humanoid forms and spread about the outsides of the Airdramon's form. In a matter of seconds it was over, and a dark grey Airdramon stared at the Kaiser, surrounded with an aura of shadowy flames. Ken was just about certain that he no longer held control over it.

The Airdramon proved him right as it shot its energy beam directly at him. Wormmon jumped towards his partner, knocking him down and out of the beam's path.

Ken unconsciously turned his head around to look at the direction the beam had gone off. It faded into the horizon, passing the twin Meramon and the shadow figure they held. And then Ken noticed something even more horrifying. The dark gasses that were releasing from the figure's arms, which he had originally thought were being burned away by the Meramon, were instead surrounding the men of fire.

The shadows that had attacked the Airdramon leaped towards the two Meramon this time, and engulfed them with dark flames. Instead of corrupting them, however, the flames burned them from the inside. The two Digimon howled in pain as they exploded into bursts of data.

The Kaiser was now surrounded by shadow figures. They slowly crept closer towards him.

"Ken," Wormmon said again, more urgently this time, "We need to leave."

For once, Ken didn't dare argue with his partner. Instead he slowly backed away, mimicking the slow pursuit of the shadow figures. His rational mind realized they were merely trying to intimidate him. One of the shadows, however, had other intentions. It leaped towards him, fully intent on an attack.

There was a blinding flash, and the next thing Ken saw was a green-armored humanoid warrior standing in front of him. A purple energy blade extended from his forearm, and pierced into the shadow form. The creature appeared shocked at the penetration, and its shadow flames disintegrated into the air as it faded from existence.

The green warrior immediately turned towards the Kaiser, scooping him up in both arms and flew off into the sky. The remaining shadow creatures attempted to reach them in the air, but their jumps were no match for the warriors ascending speed.

"Are you alright, Ken?" the warrior asked.

The boy in his arms shivered. He found his voice enough to ask, "Wormmon, is that you?"

"Yes," the Digimon said, "I evolved to protect you. I'm Stingmon now."

"Stingmon," Ken said, getting a feel for the word upon his tongue, "Yes, Stingmon. Thank you."

* * *

Ken sat on his makeshift throne. He stared again at the map of the Digital World. New areas were constantly appearing where a dark tower had been placed. It was the same shadow figures he had encountered earlier in the morning, planting their false towers over his land. He wouldn't admit it, but he was scared to face them. For the second time now since the Chosen had abandoned their game, he felt fear. It was an emotion he wasn't content to keep.

But to combat these creatures, he would need help. Should he continue trying to open the Digital Gate and try to contact the Chosen? No, he shook his head in thought. If the shadows had the Child of Light, then they probably had the others as well. That was then the reason they had stopped coming to the Digital World. They had been captured.

He sighed. The poor fools, he realized. He knew that they weren't fit to enter the Digital World. And this proved it. How could they let themselves be captured by those abominations?

Very well, Ken decided. It didn't matter. The game had simply changed once again. At first it was a game of conquest, then a game of escape, and now it would be a rescue mission. He knew of at least one damsel in distress. He had to save the Child of Light – he had to save Hikari.

He raised his Digivice, holding it with a strong grip, as he stared at its outline. It hadn't always been like this, he recalled. Once it had been a simple, basic design no different then the ones the Middle School Chosen carried. He remembered entering a world of shadow, with a deep black ocean and pale-grey sky. It changed his Digivice. Was this the world the shadow creatures had come from? By process of elimination, it had to be it. They certainly weren't from the real world, and they were planning on invading the Digital World… there was only one possible option left, that he knew of at least.

Regardless, it was a place to start his investigation. It was the only clue he had. If they weren't from that same world with the ocean, then he would revert back to step one and look elsewhere. For now, he at least had somewhere to begin his search.

He dropped the Digivice to his side, his eyes finally leaving it and resting upon Wormmon, who stood a few mere feet away looking up at his master with questioning eyes. He, too, must have been wondering what their next step should be.

"We have to save them," the Kaiser announced.

"The Chosen Children?" Wormmon asked.

"Yes," Ken said, "We can't let that army be created. Those things won't stop with just the Digital World. They'll soon set their minds on the real world as well. Like they said, we're the stepping stone. To get to everything else, they need to get through us first."

"I'll do my best to protect you, Ken."

"I know."

Ken sighed, rising from his seat. Wormmon looked on as he lifted his Digivice and pointed it towards the air. He strained, trying to remember how to open the portal to the shadow world. It wasn't digital – there was no way to code the opening into his computer. It was a mystical realm, a place between the boundaries of the material and digital worlds. The world of shadows.

The black Digivice flared, shrieking in his palm. The light from it exploded about the room, illuminating everything. A dark grey portal began to rip between the fabrics of space in front of him. Wormmon scuttled forwards, staring deep into that twilight world.

"You think they're in there?" Wormmon asked.

"I think it's most likely that they are. If not then we're back to square one."

"Let's go!"

The two entered the portal.

And on the other side were met with the bleak corrupted world.

Ken strained his eyes to adjust to the new contrast. There was very little light, and his senses dulled.

"Ken!" Wormmon whispered harshly, "Over here!"

His eyesight fully returning, he found his partner hiding behind a nearby rock. He joined him there and looked around to take full notice of his surroundings. He appeared to be in a swamp, the soil was moist. There was some form of jungle flora about, but there was a simple notice to the lack of trees. His eyes traced over a cave nearby, and then beyond it towards a fortress-like structure.

He heard footsteps in the mud, and hid back down behind the rock. Wormmon then raised his antennae high and tall, with his eyes barely peaking above his cover. He quickly returned to his partner, and said, "It's the shadow creatures."

Ken nodded. At least he was on the right track. He spoke, "Let's find out what's in that fortress."

The duo sneaked about carefully. Ken carried Wormmon, using slow and careful steps along the muddy terrain to make sure he wasn't heard. And he ducked between boulders and foliage whenever there was risk of being seen. Slowly but surely, they made it to the gates. To the side of the main structure was another, smaller, shorter building. The shadow creatures were massing there. He followed them.

Finding shelter from behind a stone wall, Ken took a peak at the commotion. At first the shadows were too clustered; he didn't have the faintest idea what was going on. Just that there was something of great interest to them in that building. The walls were thin, made of a see-through glass-like substance. He knew something important had gathered them there.

From his distance, he managed to hear a faint cry. It repeated several times. It was a cross between a shout of terror and a cry of pain. He whispered to the nearby Digimon, "Do you hear that Wormmon?"

"I think so," Wormmon replied, "It sounds bad; someone is in pain."

"You think it's one of the Chosen?"

The shadows were beginning to clear, and Ken strained his eyes towards the new view. A few of the creatures remained… they seemed to be in a line, almost as if they were waiting for their turn in something. The cries had ended.

Between the dark figures in the small room, Ken was able to make out a figure on the floor. Upper clothing tattered, lower clothing nonexistent, he saw his damsel in distress. The Child of Light, in plain view, in a room with clear glass, visible to all, and most disturbingly available to all. The last of the shadow creatures left the room. Hikari was unconscious, apparently this state left the shadow beings largely unsatisfied and they saw fit to leave her be until she had awoken again.

The sight was enough to leave even the Digimon Kaiser in a disturbed state. His face went pale, and he grimaced; why had the game suddenly turned so serious? This girl was literally being used to create the army destined to overthrow his rule. It made him sick. He had to rescue her, take her away from this hell and bring her back to the Digital World.

"Ah, false one, you've found your way here," a voice spoke from behind him.

The Kaiser shot to his feet, startled. He had been so careful not to be seen. How had this happened?

Wormmon was already in between his partner and the shadow being.

He quickly noticed that many other shadows were descending towards their location. His fear was rapidly returning. How he hated that feeling, "Wormmon, we have to save her."

"Wormmon! Evolve!"

The green-armored humanoid warrior replaced Wormmon in an explosion of light. His energy blade slashed towards the nearest shadow. The creature leaped out of the way, and before Stingmon could make another attack, was surrounded by two extra shadow creatures.

Ken looked towards his partner, then back towards Hikari. The girl was still unconscious. If Stingmon could scoop him up here and then fly towards her… pick them both up and then they could escape this world. The thoughts were forming too slowly; he didn't have the time for this rescue. The shadows were reinforcing. Stingmon would be consumed soon. He was facing off against five of them now, barely keeping them at bay with his energy blade.

The Kaiser took notice that the shadows weren't acting out to attack him. They were still mainly trying to intimidate him. He clenched his fist, gripping against his Digivice. This infuriated him. He shouted to his partner, "Stingmon! We're getting out of here!"

Stingmon needed no further instructions. With a lucky swing he managed to cut down one of the shadows, and it burst apart into dark flames. The others staggered at the sight of their fallen ally, and Stingmon took their moment of hesitation to fly towards Ken as his human opened the portal back to the Digital World.

The two entered the rip through space, and the portal vanished along with them leaving the shadow beings behind. The twilight world faded, yet the darkness of the Kaiser's fortress remained to dull his view. For a short moment Ken felt the comparison of his own base and the world of darkness he had just escaped from. The thoughts quickly left him.

"THEY DARE TO INSULT ME!" Ken shouted his frustrations towards the empty room. He would admit it, yes, he felt fear. But that feeling was over. He realized he wasn't acting like the Digimon Kaiser. The Digimon Kaiser wouldn't feel fear. The Digimon Kaiser would analyze the situation and react to it accordingly.

Wormmon said, "I failed you, Ken, I'm sorry."

"No," the Kaiser said, "You are strong. I'm satisfied with your performance. You've killed two of those bastards, and I assure you many more will meet the end of your blade very soon."

"What will we do?" Wormmon asked.

"No Emperor acquired victory without an army at his back," the Kaiser contemplated his next move, "This is why the master of those shadow beasts is creating one of his own. He's dissatisfied with the shadows. They are weak and faulty – that's why he's breeding a new army."

The Kaiser paused. Wormmon listened intently for his next words.

They finally came, "We can't let him attain that army. We'll have to strike before they're ready."

"So we'll be going back there?" Wormmon asked.

"Yes," the Kaiser replied, "But we're going there with more firepower. The next time we walk into that shadow world we walk out the victors. The next time I walk into that shadow world, like all the grand emperors before me, I'll have an army at my back."

"The enslaved Digimon?" Wormmon prompted. He didn't like that suggestion, but if it would save the Chosen Child…

"Not exactly, we saw how poorly the Airdramon and Meramon were able to defend themselves against these beasts," Ken replied, but then he grinned, "Luckily, I know exactly where we can get some exceedingly powerful and willing recruits."

But the worm did have a point. Useless or not, when his slaves had earlier been attacked he was caught unaware and they were easily defeated. He knew his opponents now, and would launch his assault in far greater numbers then with only three mere slaves. The ringed Digimon would prove useful; with them he already had an army waiting at his call.

And he would rouse such an army to invade the twilight world. Now he just had to perfect it.

* * *

The Dark Towers began sprouting up again today. They were different however, Agumon knew. These new towers dissipated into data upon destruction. And they didn't power the enslaving rings. Many Digimon had simply snapped out of their enslavement. The ring would still be on them, but it would be unpowered; the dark tower remaining un-destroyed. It seemed as though someone was replacing the real towers with these fakes. The slaves that remained enslaved were slowly becoming different as well. They emitted a dark grey aura, engulfed in dark flames and shadows. The rings didn't seem to be controlling them. It was something else.

Agumon had to wonder, was the Kaiser really behind all this? He could no longer destroy the rings to escape danger, and it was forcing him into hiding. The Chosen Children hadn't been heard from for far too long. What exactly had happened to them? He was sure Tentomon would have reported their capture had the Kaiser managed to defeat them. Had they decided to abandon this world? Had Taichi abandoned him?

Agumon shook his head. He knew something bad was happening. He just had to figure out what.

"Aha, found you."

Agumon froze mid-step. He had been on his way to meet with the other Chosen partners. They were to regroup and discuss their findings on what was happening to the Digital World and the Chosen Children. He hadn't counted on being found by the Kaiser during his travel.

"We need to talk," the Kaiser told the Digimon. He rode an enslaved Airdramon – enslaved via ring rather than engulfed in darkness. Wormmon was at his heels.

"Talk?" Agumon slowly turned around. He expected an immediate dark spiral thrown on him. Talking was a much better alternative. Perhaps the Kaiser was seeking answers as well.

"It's about the Chosen," the Kaiser said, "Tell me what you know and I'll fill you in on what you don't."

Agumon carefully considered the question; was he simply using him in an attempt to attain information before enslaving him? But the oddly enslaved Digimon and the fake dark towers led Agumon to believe otherwise. It seemed the Kaiser was just as clueless as he was. He spoke, "The towers are fakes, there are Digimon that are enslaved… but not the way you do it, it's not the rings… it's inside them almost. I haven't seen the Chosen in quite some time."

"Yes," the Kaiser said, "I'd expect that you haven't. Is that all?"

Agumon nodded.

"The Digital Gate is closed," the Kaiser said, "That's why your partner isn't coming. Nobody can come in, and I can't get out."

Agumon grimaced at the news. He remembered the last time the gate had closed. The others wouldn't take this well at all.

"The new spires and enslaved Digimon," the Kaiser continued, "They're the work of strange creatures. They aren't Digimon. They come from a world of darkness. They have every intention of overthrowing me and conquering the Digital World. From here, they plan to conquer the real world and any other dimension they're capable of entering."

"How do you know all this?" Agumon thought to ask. It was all too detailed. Was it just a ruse?

"I've interrogated one of the shadow creatures," the Kaiser said, "I've also gone to that world. I've seen what they're doing with my own eyes; they're breeding an army for conquest."

The human seemed to shiver at that last part. His facial expression turned into a troubled scowl.

"Then we have to find a way to open the gate and contact the Chosen," Agumon said.

"I've found them," the Kaiser said, "Well, one of them at least. I think you know her pretty well, considering she's your human's sister."

"Hikari!" Agumon shouted, "Where is she?"

The Kaiser looked downcast, "That's… the problem that caused me to seek you out."

"Where is she?" Agumon prompted.

"In the world of darkness," the Kaiser attempted a stoic reply, but his voice began to crack, "She's the one being used to breed that army. Those shadow creatures are…"

His voice trailed off, not able to finish the sentence. Agumon's eyes widened. "And the others?"

"Don't know," the Kaiser said, offering an impassive shrug, "They're either captured in the shadow world as well, or like me they're trapped without a working gate. Only difference would be that I'm stuck in the Digital World and they're trapped in the real world."

"So what's your plan?" Agumon asked skeptically.

In response, the Kaiser presented him with a dark spiral. Agumon recoiled at the sight.

"I knew it! This was all just to enslave me again!" Agumon shouted, and then took a fighting stance with raised claws, "Well, I won't go down without a fight!"

The Kaiser shook his head, "Pathetic, don't you think I'd have done it by now if that were my intention?"

He dropped the spiral by Agumon. He presented him again with another, and again with another. He repeated the process several more times until six spirals lay by the orange Digimon's feet.

"What is your intention then?" Agumon felt himself relax.

"One is for you, the rest of them are for the other Chosen partners. I tried going in there with Wormmon; he evolved to adult but it wasn't enough to save her. I know you want to save her even more than I do, and we both definitely don't want her giving birth to an army that will lay waste to all worlds in existence."

Agumon stared, "You can't be serious."

"I need your perfection levels; you can't evolve without your partners and I don't have the firepower to rescue the damsel. We'll both lose if you don't let me evolve you with those spirals. Take them with you, think it over, and put them on when you're ready. I'll know when you do. Don't take too long, though, that Chosen girl is in pain every second you hesitate. I'll release you all once we've rescued her; she'll probably need to see some familiar faces after her entire trauma is finally over."

Agumon picked up a spiral. He seemed to be strongly considering it.

"Remember, it's for Hikari," the Kaiser said, at last using her name. With that, he snapped his fingers, and the Airdramon he stood mounted on flew off into the air.

* * *

"Guys, what do you think about this?" Agumon asked. The group had gathered as originally intended. Before anyone could speak, Agumon dumped six dark spirals in the center of the group. There was an immediate cry of outrage, Piyomon immediately wanted to destroy them all, berating Agumon for the horrors he was carrying. After finally managing to calm them down, Agumon began his explanations as to what the Kaiser had said.

Gabumon spoke up, "It's true that the new method of enslavement is nothing like the Kaiser's rings. And indeed there are still Digimon with rings on them so it's not as though he has changed his methods. The new towers themselves would serve him no purpose if they didn't extend his control, yet they're still being placed… even replacing the Kaiser's own in certain areas. It can't be his doing."

"This is insane," Piyomon ridiculed them, "Are you two really considering willingly offering yourselves up to be the Kaiser's slaves?"

"The Chosen have been gone too long," Agumon frowned, "I can't ignore that Hikari might be in danger."

"Are you sure this will help her?" Tentomon asked, holding up one of the spirals in his clawed hands.

"What choice do we have? If Hikari is really in danger…"

"Hikari wouldn't want us enslaving ourselves for her," Piyomon countered.

"I'm certain Koushiro-han would try to find another way…" Tentomon said.

"Would Yamato and the others even consent to this?" Gabumon thought to ask.

"Mimi certainly wouldn't approve…" Palmon frowned.

There was a short silence. All six Digimon reflected; it was true that none of their partners would approve of their willing enslavement. And once again the Digital Gate had been shut. Whether they liked it or not, they were alone in the Digital World without their partners once again.

"I'm with Agumon on this," Gomamon said, "I'll put on a spiral if it means being Zudomon again and rescuing Hikari. Even if Jyou wouldn't agree with me, I'd know it's the right thing to do."

"We can't make this decision based on what our partners might think," Agumon added, "I'm certain Taichi wouldn't want me to go through being viral again, even if it would only be to save Hikari. But she needs us. We have to make this decision ourselves; our partners aren't here to make it for us. And we need to do it fast before it's too late to make any difference."

"I think you're right," Palmon said, "Even if I knew for certain Mimi would say no, if it would save Hikari-chan I'd probably do it anyways."

"Then are we in agreement?" Agumon asked, glancing towards the other Digimon. He carefully eyed Piyomon, but she backed down at his gaze.

"We're in agreement," Gabumon confirmed it for him.

Piyomon sighed, "Alright, let's rescue Hikari. You guys better be right about this…"

* * *

The black Digivice in his hand flashed to life; signaling not one, but six new additions to his enslaved army. The partner Digimon had put on the spirals, just as he knew they would. Ken smirked. His first goal was complete. With six perfection level Digimon at his command, there was no stopping him. He would bring down the master of the shadow world, and finally free himself from this cursed game forever.

He whistled for his Airdramon mount, and flew off towards the direction of his new slaves. It was time for him to take his revenge against this Dark God and rescue his damsel in distress. It was time for him to end this game and go home.

* * *

Ken stood in front of the portal that would lead him to the shadow world. This time, however, he was going in prepared. This time it wouldn't be just him and Stingmon – now he had an army at his command.

He surveyed the landscape behind him along the vast desert where his fortress now lay. His army of the enslaved awaited his orders. He smiled in triumph. Those abominations of darkness wouldn't stand a chance. The viral Garudamon, AlturKabuterimon, and Lillymon were to lead his many ringed Airdramon – he had always been rather fond of those creatures – for the aerial assault. MetalGreymon and WereGarurumon were to attain land control with his army of ringed Tyrannomon. And Zudomon would be coming in from the sea, several Seadramon falling under his unit. All the meanwhile he and Stingmon would sneak into the fortress again, and rescue Hikari. It was the perfect setup.

His enslaved Digimon were sent in first, and he followed immediately after. The first priority was the rescue mission. As his eyes adjusted once more, the first thing the Kaiser took notice of was the utter chaotic state of the shadow world. His army had thus far been pleasingly successful. He gave himself a moment to bask in the ensuing victory, and then the smile on his face disappeared and he set off amongst the chaos towards the fortress of the Dark God. Stingmon followed suit.

The Kaiser could see his attack had been unexpected. The shadows were disorganized in their attempted defense. Certainly there were casualties on his side as well. The muddy ground was slowing down his Tyrannomon, and the shadow creatures took advantage of that fact. Engulfing the red dinosaurs with their shadowy flames, several of his enslaved minions fell. Some dissipated into data, others forced into the shadows slavery. Regardless, as long as he had his six viral perfections, this battle was as good as won. He smirked as WereGarurumon slashed one of the shadow-slaved Tyrannomon with his claws and deleted it. It would soon be over.

With air support, MetalGreymon and WereGarurumon easily made progress in their path towards the fortress. There was a battle on the other side, and he could see the dark outline of Zudomon rising from the oceans and flanked by several Seadramon in his attack.

Ken urged himself forward; this was no time to admire his strategy in action. He had the advantage of surprise, and he wasn't about to waste it. He reached the gates of the fortress, and rushed inside to where he knew Hikari was being held - that same small building with the see-through walls.

"Stingmon, blast that door open!" he commanded as he ran towards the structure.

The green Digimon nodded, and flew on ahead, blazing in speed towards the glass doors and unsheathed his energy blade. He crashed into the glass; it shattered upon impact, allowing Ken inside.

"Good work," Ken said, slowing down to a walk as he came towards Hikari's prone form. He knelt down beside her, nudging her slightly.

Her eyes opened slightly, and he helped her to a sitting position. Her eyes locked with his, and she opened her mouth in an attempt to speak. Instead her voice left her, and she broke into a cough. Ken spoke, "Easy, I won't hurt you. I'll take you away from this nightmare, I promise."

"Ken," Stingmon warned, his gaze drifting to the main tower of the Dark God's fortress. It was rumbling.

"It seems we've awoken the wraith of their God," Ken smirked, "Let him come. I'll destroy him and put an end to this."

"Tailmon… Ken, she…" Hikari managed to voice weakly. Her clothes were still tattered, and Ken took the moment to cover her with his cloak.

"Stingmon, take her," Ken then ordered, "I'm going to meet this dark lord."

The top of the tower finally collapsed from the pressure and the Dark God rose from its remains. The human girl that rested in his arms fainted at the sight, and Stingmon gasped as he saw the creature that appeared. "That's no god! That's a Digimon!"

Ken's brows raised in surprise, "A Digimon? Is that so? That certainly makes things interesting."

"Foolish human," the behemoth bellowed, "You think yourself brave and strong enough to attack me in my own domain? I, Dagomon, will not fall so easily! _Tentacle Claw_!"

The large Digimon shot a large tentacle appendage down towards the Kaiser. Ken froze at the attack, desperately urging his legs to move. Stingmon managed to grab hold of him at the last moment, and flew off to the sky with both humans in his arms.

His spiral-enslaved Digimon appeared to his rescue. The Airdramon, Tyrannomon, and Seadramon were still battling the shades off in the distance.

Zudomon rose from the sea. The large giant stood on shallow water and took aim. He sent his hammer flying straight for Dagomon. It spun in the air like a boomerang towards its target. The hit from behind finally connected, and the dark lord howled in pain.

MetalGreymon joined in the assault, his chest plate flying opening and sending off a large twin pair of missiles; both of them exploded upon impact. The Kaiser allowed himself a brief smile. This was a battle Dagomon couldn't win.

"You're pathetic," Ken shouted to him from his place in the air where Stingmon held him, "You're not worthy of being called a god, not even by the miserable cretins native to this world."

"Silence!" Dagomon demanded, shooting another tentacle appendage towards where Stingmon floated. The Digimon easily dodged it.

"Where are the other Chosen?" Ken demanded.

Dagomon let out a hoarse laugh, "I only ever needed the Child of Light. It is a shame my army wasn't ready yet. Perhaps you are worthy of ruling the Digital World after all…"

"Flattery will get you nowhere," the Kaiser grimaced. His thoughts were once again plagued by what Hikari had gone through in this world, "You don't deserve to live."

Dagomon shouted, "Fool! Do you really believe that you can defeat a God?"

He let loose another string of tentacles towards the surrounding Digimon. This time they all retaliated. Lillymon dodged the one aimed for her, and then from the flower head she held in her clasped palms she fired her energy cannon at the one incoming towards the Kaiser. WereGarurumon slashed at the one incoming towards him with his claws; his abilities allowed him to be more than capable of defending himself against such an attack. Both tentacles exploded in data and Dagomon shrieked in pain at the loss. Garudamon landed in front of him, having escaped the attack aimed for her, and prepared her own offensive as her body began to erupt with burning red flames.

"Very well," Dagomon seemed to say, "I shall… accept deletion."

"Stop," Ken suddenly announced. Garudamon immediately stopped charging her attack.

Deletion was too good for such a monster that so very much deserved death. But the Kaiser had other plans on how to make him suffer. It was unexpected that the Dark God would turn out to simply be another Digimon, but Ken would make use of this new found knowledge. He withdrew one of his dark spirals, fingering it within his palm.

The Kaiser was flanked to his sides by six exceedingly strong perfect Digimon. There was no attack Dagomon could do that would save him at this point, and Ken took the moment to bask in the knowledge that Dagomon, too, knew nothing could be done for him.

"No!" Dagomon desperately called out as the spiral flew towards him. And soon he knew no more.

* * *

Agumon's eyes fluttered open to freedom once again. He looked around at his surroundings. He saw the Digimon Kaiser taking off the spiral that was on Gabumon's arm. He looked elsewhere, and saw that Piyomon, Palmon, Gomamon and Tentomon had already been freed. Wormmon was with them, too.

"What's going on?" He thought to ask, "Where are we?"

"You're in my floating fortress," the Kaiser stated, "I've kept my end of the bargain. We rescued the girl. It's all thanks to you six."

Looks of relief found themselves on the Digimon. However, Piyomon looked less than amused, "Where is she?"

"Down the hall," the Kaiser said, "She's lying in my bed, asleep."

"What do we do now, Ken?" Wormmon asked.

The Kaiser thought for a moment, and then tossed his black Digivice to Agumon, "Here, take this and go outside, all seven of you. Go in a group and try to find a working Digital Gate."

Agumon's claws grabbed at the Digivice, catching it with minimal effort. He then narrowed his eyes at the human, "Why should we take orders from you?"

The Kaiser growled, "Because if you don't I'll put another spiral on you and force you to do it anyways. Hikari can't stay here in her condition… not after what she's been through. Now get out there and find us a way home."

The Digimon immediately scattered. Piyomon remained behind, her wings folded over her chest in defiance. She demanded, "I want to see Hikari."

Ken shrugged, "Very well."

He motioned for her to follow, leading her down the hallway towards his sleeping residence. It wasn't that big of a waste of time, and as he recalled himself saying, Hikari would need to see a familiar face once she had awoken. "Hikari," He found himself asking as he opened the door; the name still felt strange coming from his lips, "Are you awake?"

There was no response. The lone girl lay in the middle of the bed underneath the covers. Piyomon instantly flew to her side. "Hikari-chan," she whispered, her eyes nearing tears.

"She'll wake up," Ken said, "I'm sure of it."

"I didn't believe you," Piyomon told him, "Not one word. I thought you were lying just so you could make us your slaves."

If Ken looked hurt, he didn't bother to show it, "It was in both of our best interests that we rescue her."

Piyomon frowned, "I see. Was it also in your best interest to free us of the spirals once we rescued her?"

"It was," Ken confirmed, "What would be the point of my being a rescuer if my damsel in distress wouldn't agree to my method of rescue?"

Piyomon blinked. Before she could respond, she felt Hikari stir. The girls eyes opened faintly, she turned her head towards the bedside ever so slowly, and spoke, "Piyomon, is that you?"

"Hikari," the bird managed, "You're alright."

Before any more words could be said, Hikari raised herself off the bed, wrapping both arms around the bird in an emotional hug. Ken stared from the doorway as Hikari let loose a series of tears. He momentarily froze in shock as her tattered clothing began to suddenly rematerialize upon her waking. Her ripped shirt began to piece together the fabric. He could only imagine her lower wear was also similarly being replaced by the Digital World.

"Is Sora with you?" Hikari finally asked between her sobs.

Piyomon shook her head sadly, "No… but he is."

Hikari turned away from the Digimon, wiping a tear with her now free hand. She blinked, "Ken… it wasn't a dream, you really did save me."

"Yes," the boy nodded, "Were the others with you? I couldn't find anyone else."

"No, none of the others," Hikari shook her head, her tears swelling up once more, "But Tailmon… Tailmon was with me, she tried to save me… she… she's gone now."

The Kaiser blinked. Her partner was gone? Deleted? But didn't that mean… game over? Why was this girl still in the Digital World then? Did she have to be deleted instead to be sent back? He was being overwhelmed by this confusion.

"We'll go to the village of firsts," Piyomon tried to soothe the girl, "Her egg might have landed already, she might already be reborn."

Hikari's sobs turned to quiet sniffles, "Yes… yes, please, Ken. Take me to the village of firsts."

Ken frowned, "What is that, exactly?"

Piyomon sighed angrily. She didn't want to share any information with the Kaiser that could potentially strengthen his rule. And she definitely didn't want him enslaving a village full of babies. But in this case she had little choice; the village had already been mentioned. He would find out about it eventually. Piyomon spoke, "It's the place where Digimon are reborn."

Ken nodded. That somewhat solved his dilemma. The cat would be reborn, that's why Hikari's game hadn't ended. He unconsciously asked, "How many more lives does she have?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Piyomon rustled her feathers at the question, and then she turned to Hikari, "Is that some sort of joke?"

Hikari's tears had lessened, and she replied, "I think so… there's this saying in our world, about cats having nine lives."

Ken growled. Were they mocking him? "That's not what I mean, you nitwits. I mean how many more times can she be reborn until it's game over?"

Hikari tried to blink away the tears that were once again returning. She turned her head away from Ken, not wanting to meet his gaze with her response, "I don't want to think about that. Hopefully there's no answer."

Ken folded his arms, "The game has to end sometime. You can't live in it here all your life."

"The game," Hikari repeated his words as she turned to look at him again. Piyomon did the same. "What do you mean by that?"

"The game," Ken explained as if speaking to a child, "The Digital World game – I rescued you, the game should end. I'm victorious. Damn, I hope I don't have to return to that dull game of conquest. It became unentertaining exceptionally fast when the Digital Gate closed and I lost my opponents. I hardly think you'd be much of a challenge for me by yourself at this point."

The Digimon group had returned from their exploration outside the Kaiser's base. Agumon shuffled into the doorway, Wormmon following right behind him.

"The Digital Gates are still closed," the dinosaur said. He held the Digivice in his claws, considering for a moment, and then threw it back towards the Kaiser. Ken caught it expertly, and turned back towards Hikari. She was staring back at him with a gasp.

"You think… you thought this was all a game?" Hikari asked.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Agumon and Wormmon were both giving him similar looks of surprise.

"Well, yeah," Ken said, directing his words to the Chosen, "You must have realized everything here is simply data. I mean, there's a reason we call this place the Digital World and our home the real world."

"You've never taken Wormmon back home?" Hikari thought to ask.

"Back home?" Ken raised his brow, immediately followed by a soft laugh, "How would that even be possible? He's just data. He can't exist in the real world."

"We've been in the real world," Agumon said, motioning to himself and Piyomon.

Hikari nodded, "Tailmon has been, too."

Ken scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous. There's no way Digimon could exist in the real world. They are simple data banks. They aren't really here. None of this is really here."

Hikari shook her head, "Where do you think the partners of the other Chosen are: V-mon, Patamon, Hawkmon, and Armadimon? They're all in the real world with their partners. They aren't here. Trust me, Ken, they do exist."

"Wormmon," Ken spoke with uncertainty in his voice, "Is this… true?"

Wormmon nodded, "I'm as real as you are Ken. I had no idea you thought this way about me before…"

"Wormmon… I…" he was at a loss for words. These creatures he was surrounded by here every single day… they weren't just running computer programs. The reason he had begun to be so accepting of Wormmon recently was because he had finally managed to prove himself useful. But now… they were all indeed real? He somehow couldn't comprehend it.

"Ken," Hikari interrupted his thoughts. She had stepped out of her bed; her strength seemed to be fully returned.

The Kaiser dropped to the floor, his knees giving away. He stared at his hands in shock, and asked once again, "Digimon are really more than just data?"

Hikari frowned at him. She had troubling believing he was taking this so hard. She began again, "Ken – would you please take me to the village of firsts?"

He looked up at her, her eyes pleading with him. He'd have to muse over this revelation more later on. Right now he had to take care of Hikari and the other partner Digimon. He managed to get to his feet. He took hold of the glasses the Kaiser wore, and tossed them aside. He nodded to her, "Right. Let's get going."

They were met with the other Digimon just outside the room; they idled in his control room, taking interest in the various gadgets here and there.

"I can't wait to show this to Koushiro-han," Tentomon was saying before seeing the new arrivals, and immediately all action ceased.

"We're going to the village of firsts," Ken announced, and proceeded towards the nearest doorway to summon an Airdramon to give them a lift.

Hikari and Wormmon stayed near him, but he could hear the muffled whispers behind him from the other Digimon. Apparently Piyomon and Agumon were letting the others in on their newfound discovery about his interpretations of the Digital World. He scowled at the thought of them speaking about him behind his back.

Gomamon had then shouted, his voice full of surprise, "He thought WHAT?"

He could then hear five other sets of voices hissing for the seal to be quiet.

The doorway materialized in front of him. He looked outside and felt the breeze of the wind. He had never quite realized how realistic the weather here felt, let alone the skin tissues of the various Digimon or the cold hard feeling of his dark towers.

He frowned suddenly. The Airdramon coming to pick them up would be ringed. The Airdramon was alive, its freedom taken away. Should he release it, then? But then he would be without a ride.

"I'll release it once we've reached the village," the Kaiser told her. He then snapped his fingers and the Airdramon flew to the doorway, waiting to be mounted.

Hikari shook her head, "Release it now and find out if it will willingly take us there."

"Are you crazy?" Ken shouted at her, "The Airdramon will attack me the second that ring is off."

Hikari folded her arms in defiance. The six Digimon at her feet did likewise. Wormmon was the only one not to bother, yet even he had always shown discomfort riding on enslaved Digimon. Ken sighed, realizing he was outvoted.

He released the Airdramon, who promptly refused to grant them any travel and flew off to the sky.

"Satisfied?" Ken growled. He knew this was a bad idea.

"At least he didn't attack you," Wormmon offered.

"Start releasing your fliers one by one," Hikari said, "I'm sure we'll eventually find someone nice enough to take us there."

Ken's eyes narrowed, "I could just leave you here."

"You said you'd take me," Hikari countered.

"I could just as easily change my mind."

"Would you truly deprive me of seeing Tailmon again right now? Knowing what you know?" Hikari frowned at him.

Ken sighed, realizing just at that moment that he wouldn't like the idea of never seeing Wormmon again. He wouldn't bestow that feeling on anyone else. There was a soft pink glow under his chest for a few short seconds, yet it went unnoticed as he turned away from the group, "Fine! We'll do it your way."

One by one he called down his enslaved Airdramon, and one by one he released them, and one by one they flat out refused to help. He was already down twenty Airdramon when he scowled at the Chosen Child, "I'm running out of slaves."

She smiled innocently, "Isn't that a good thing?"

He threw his arms up in frustration as Airdramon number twenty-one landed. He promptly released it and it promptly flew away in anger. It was the twenty-sixth Airdramon that finally relented, and offered to take the Child of Light and her digital companions to the village of beginnings. Ken, however, was forced to ride with Stingmon. He gladly accepted such a compromise.

* * *

Ken looked around the village of firsts as the group landed. It was a small haven on an island illuminated by moonlight far off the coast of the inland continent he had always gone to. Hikari seemed to be reminiscing on old memories as she walked about the many Digimon nests. It was then that a dark red Digimon appeared in front of him.

His voice was covered with severe disapproval, "What are you doing here? You're disturbing the babies."

"Elecmon," Hikari smiled down at him, "It's good to see you again."

The other Digimon nodded and waved to him as one would an old friend. The red Digimon relaxed upon their sight, and moved to join in with the more familiar group. The Kaiser remained behind, spectator to the reunion, with Wormmon at his shoulder.

"Hikari-chan," he frowned at her, "I've been regretfully expecting you. If only we could've met again upon better circumstances. Tailmon's Digitama landed a little under a week ago."

"It hasn't hatched, I take it," Hikari said.

"I'm afraid not," Elecmon replied gravely, "I'll take you to her, perhaps you'll have better luck. It normally shouldn't take this long."

Hikari nodded, and followed the caretaker. The Chosen's partners stepped in line with her, and Ken strayed behind.

"Dare I ask," Elecmon began during his walk, "Why is the cruel young monarch with you?"

"He's helping," Hikari answered, "He's just a confused boy. He could use a friend right about now almost as much as I could."

They reached the nest, and Hikari familiarized herself with the egg. She had been thankful prior to this to have never needed to see Tailmon's Digitama state. Now she truly knew how Takeru felt. She reached for the egg, if only to imagine being able to hold Tailmon in her arms once again, and then the egg flashed brightly upon her touch. The light materialized in her hand and there she saw her once lost pink D3.

She gawked at it. And the egg in front of her cracked slightly. Her eyes shifted down to the hatching Digitama, and out came the familiar form of Nyaromon. With tears threatening to stream down her face again, she knelt down and picked up the Digimon in her arms, whimpering.

"Hikari… you're safe," Nyaromon smiled, "I'm so happy to see you again."

"Me, too," Hikari cried, "Tailmon… Nyaromon, you'll be Tailmon again soon. I know you will."

Nyaromon nuzzled against her partner's cheek affectionately, and then let her eyes trace against their audience. "Elecmon, Agumon… everyone…" her smile suddenly faded as she saw Ken leaning against a nearby tree, "What's he doing here?"

"He rescued me from Dagomon," Hikari said, wiping away her tears.

With all eyes turning towards Ken, Agumon seemed to notice something behind the would-be Kaiser. He voiced it out immediately, "Hey – Ken – behind you."

Ken immediately turned around, seeing nothing there. He could hear Agumon running up to him; he was yelling out loud again, "The TV by your feet! The TV! The Digital Gate is open again! It's open!"

Ken noticed it, too, his eyes wide. The television was lit green, meaning it was truly open. He would finally be able to go home.

The celebration was cut short as an explosion rocked the island. Both Ken and Hikari were toppled off their feet. The Digimon managed to secure their footing. Ken turned towards the sound of the explosion, and in the far out distance he could make out his floating fortress hovering over the ocean and inching ever so slowly towards the island. There was another rumbling, and the next thing he saw was his once-captive Dagomon burst from the top of his fortress, his tentacle arms spreading wide into the air as debris from the surrounding walls fell away into the waters below.

The Dark God bellowed into the air, loud enough for all present on File Island to hear, "The world shall be covered in Darkness! None shall survive! FOR VAMDEMON-SAMA!"

* * *

Chapter Notes:  
- This story breaks off during "Call of Dagomon." It takes off on the basis that only Tailmon made it to the Dark Ocean to try and help Hikari, and as a result wasn't successful without Takeru's help. Hikari ended up being taken by the shadows and Tailmon was deleted.  
- Ken is known to be able to open portals to the world of the Dark Ocean by will; this was shown when the Chosen sealed Daemon.  
- In "Call of Dagomon," Takeru and Hikari rode the pink light that appeared after the dark tower was destroyed back to what appears to be the Digital World. In much the same way, Dagomon's minion's arrived from the pink beam that appeared when Ken had the fake tower destroyed.


	2. Disturbance and Conflict

Date Started: October 1st, 2008  
Date Finished: January 21st, 2009

* * *

Summary_: It was a day meant to be experienced only by Hope and Light. Instead the Digital Gate remains closed, Hikari has been taken by the Dark God, and Oikawa is stirring. In the meantime the Kaiser's reign is threatened by strange shadows from another world..._

* * *

World of Twilight

Chapter 2 – Disturbance and Conflict

_Their spirals had broken. And the twisted monstrosities began to reform and reshape their features. The once thought to be Hangyomon were at last in their true forms; they showed themselves as what they were: mere creatures of shadow native to this rotting world._

_At the sight of them, Hikari nervously took a step backwards. And then a dark transparent hand suddenly grasped her forearm, and immediately pulled her back towards them._

"_What… what are you doing?" Hikari managed to cry out._

"_We called you here…" the one holding her responded, "For you are fit to be our concubine."_

"_Let me go…" Hikari pleaded._

"_It is necessary," the shadow responded, "You are to birth an army for us with which we may use to defeat the false God."_

"_Neko Punch!" Tailmon's voice echoed amongst the shore. Hikari turned to see her partner, her tiny fist connecting hard against one of the surrounding shadows. It staggered backwards, surprised from the blow._

"_Let Hikari go!" the feline Digimon demanded._

_Her bravado did not prove to be useful. Several shadows advanced upon her, leaving a few others to drag Hikari into the sea._

"_Tailmon!" Hikari shouted. She pulled at her arm, trying frantically to free herself and go help her partner, but to no avail. The grip the shadows held on her refused to waver._

"_Come with us to our one true God," the primary shade that held her spoke, at last pulling her beneath the ocean surface._

"_Tailmon!" Hikari cried out one last time as her vision became clouded and she felt herself dragged underwater. Her last sight was of white data sparks floating off into the sky. The dark waters seeped into her lungs from her most recent cry of desperation._

_Consciousness faded from her. And the nightmares of a consuming darkness returned to her once more._

_And not too soon after, the underwater fortress, the mark of sovereignty for the undersea master, arose from the depths…_

* * *

"You know something you're not telling us," Taichi said, "What is it, Takeru?"

"There's not much else," responded the younger Chosen. He and Daisuke had come to report Hikari's disappearance. It came down to the fact that Hikari was gone; it was as simple as that. What did it matter if he had spent a few hours shouting her name at the shoreline?

"Takeru," Taichi started. He looked at him eye to eye, "My sister is missing; I want to know everything you know. Now tell me what happened today."

Takeru frowned, trying to gather the words for his explanation. "I saw her… beginning to disappear, almost, I think. She mentioned some dreams – nightmares of creatures that were supposedly pulling her to a beach in a world of darkness."

* * *

The Gate had closed down, but why? How had this happened? His furious eyes glared at the screen in front of him. All his plans... how could they have fallen apart like this? Who was to blame?

The Kaiser had been perfect - his dark towers were swiftly being erected throughout the Digital World – it wouldn't have taken much longer for the world's defenses to crumble and finally grant him the access he so desperately desired. And to make matters worse, not even his two precious creations could enter the world right now.

Was it possible that the Chosen had defeated the Kaiser and he simply wasn't aware? But would that have locked the Gate even if it were true?

No, Oikawa decided, that wasn't the case. The newspapers on his desk clearly reported that Ichijouji Ken was still missing. The boy was still in the Digital World. Nothing had changed with his reign. The man frowned, deep in thought.

With the boy still in the Digital World he couldn't even move onto his backup plan: using the black spore itself to force open the gateway. Now both options were unavailable to him. He angrily slammed his fist against the computer desk. The Digital World had eluded him yet again!

"Then re-create the black spore," a voice called to him; it was but an echo.

Yes, of course, Oikawa realized. If the spore within Ichijouji Ken was unavailable, then he could simply plant it in another child. Once it had sprouted, he'd harvest it like originally planned with Ken and open the Gate that way. But the problem lay in that the spore hadn't been his creation… it was placed in the Kaiser without his doing. How would he even begin to develop such an object?

The plans immediately began to form in his head; various lines of code filled his thoughts. They were crude, no more than mere theories. But it was a start. He began plotting.

* * *

Daisuke reflected upon the past week during his walk to the school grounds. The secret was out, he knew. The disappearance of Yagami Hikari could simply not be contained. She had been gone for over a week and questions were being raised as to her current whereabouts; and to these questions the Chosen had no fair answers to offer. While the families of the older Chosen were well aware that the Digital World was back in their children's lives, and not for the better, the rest of the world only knew that the daughter of Susumu and Yuuko Yagami had simply gone missing.

Restlessness had followed the Chosen Children in the coming days as they attempted to cope with these issues. Miyako and Koushiro spent many hours working out bugs and glitches in their attempt to access the Digital Gate, and Daisuke frequently delivered their dinner to the computer lab. Becoming the unofficial errand boy for Poromon and the two brains of the operation was all Daisuke could do to maintain the feeling of usefulness. He cursed at himself for being computer inept.

Chibimon hung on by his goggle strap, juggling his balance as Daisuke swung his arms back and forth while caring bags filled with food. They turned a corner near the school, and Daisuke found himself slamming into someone. The impact sent them both to the pavement, forcing Daisuke into dropping the bags as he attempted to allow himself a softer landing.

The object of his collision had been running; that much Daisuke could tell from the force of his fall. His head spun, and Chibimon had no doubt fallen off. Ignoring the pain and the dizziness, he forced himself to blink open his eyes. He then saw a girl in front of him. She looked slightly older than him, probably Miyako's or Koushiro's age; more likely the former, he assumed. The lack of an official school uniform told him she wasn't yet old enough to be a student in Junior High.

The girl wasted no time in rising to her feet again and running off. The fear covering her face didn't go unnoticed by Daisuke. Not a moment later a man in a blue trench coat ran by after her. The sight immediately brought Daisuke to his feet. He surveyed the ground for a quick second and saw his bags splattered. The bento boxes were broken; rice and shrimp covered the pavement. With a quick and silent decision to ignore the mess, he scooped Chibimon in his arms and ran after the pair.

"Daisuke," Chibimon called up to him, "What're we doing?"

"The girl's in trouble," He panted from his run, "We gotta help her."

Chibimon voiced his confusion, "But we're in the human world. There shouldn't be any Digimon attacks here…"

Daisuke frowned, "It's not a Digimon we're helping her get away from… it's another human."

"Like the Digimon Kaiser?" Chibimon asked worriedly.

"Yeah, something like that," Daisuke said.

The school wasn't a crowded area at this time, and Daisuke could see the girl ahead of him was running towards the busy streets. She would be safe there. But as she passed by an alleyway, another pair of hands reached out and grabbed her, pulling her in. The man in blue followed suit and turned into the corner. Upon the sight, Daisuke sped up, increasing his pace. He came to a pant in front of the alley, the adrenaline slowly leaving him. He stared in horror at the empty darkness.

"No way…" He breathed out, "They should've been here…"

"I saw it, too," Chibimon said, reassuring his partner.

Daisuke carefully stepped inwards between the two surrounding buildings. He looked around with careful detail at the walls and the garbage dumpsters, trying to find any clue as to the whereabouts of the girl and her kidnappers. He trailed a hand over the brick wall at the end of the path as he spoke, "I don't understand how they could've just disappeared."

"Daisuke," Chibimon suddenly announced. The D3 at Daisuke's belt shone brightly; his partner was forcing an evolution into V-mon, "I sense a Digimon nearby."

Daisuke turned towards V-mon. His eyes were wide as a realization came to him. He couldn't help but shudder as he voiced his words, "You think… you think this is what might have happened to Hikari?"

There was a rumbling; both Daisuke and Chibimon could feel a slight shake in the ground from where they stood. Trying to find the source, Daisuke looked about their surroundings. He noticed a pair of figures on the nearby roof. One was the man in blue, the other a pale woman in a lengthy red dress. The top of the building where they stood suddenly exploded, causing the wall and debris of bricks to come crashing down upon where Daisuke stood.

He tried to back away yet was only met with resistance from the wall of the building behind him, and the alley entrance proved to be too far away to make a run for it. In panic, his remaining rational action was to lift his hands to cover his face in a desperate attempt to shield himself from the incoming collision. Out of the corner of his eye he managed to see another light erupting from his D3, and not a split second before the crash, he felt himself being lifted off the ground. When he let his hands fall, the alleyway and the buildings were long gone. He strained his eyes to see the two figures below, but all that was left down there was rubble.

He looked himself over, feeling lightweight and woozy from floating in the air. He managed then to look over his rescuer. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. It was without a doubt V-mon, but it wasn't any form he could recognize his partner having.

"V-mon…?" Daisuke voiced.

"XV-mon," the blue flyer corrected, "Those two on the rooftop weren't humans. They were the Digimon I sensed. I'm sure of it."

Daisuke sighed, "I couldn't save that girl. Just like I couldn't save Hikari…"

"Daisuke," XV-mon said, "We've got to tell the others about this."

"You're right," the Chosen nodded, "Let's continue to the computer lab. Taichi-san is probably still checking up on things there. He and Koushiro will want to be the first to know."

* * *

And just as Daisuke had figured, neither Taichi nor Koushiro had not taken the news well. The fact that there were two Digimon abducting children in the real world was not a problem they were ready to deal with. And when Daisuke brought up the comparison of the girl's kidnapping and Hikari's disappearance there was immediate silence as they contemplated the possibility.

"Both Hikari-san and Tailmon are missing," Koushiro said, "If those same two Digimon were the ones that had kidnapped Hikari, too, then they are in all likelihood strong enough to defeat Nefertimon; possibly Angewomon, too. We must be cautious."

Taichi was furious, "We need to go after them and find out if they have any connection with Hikari's disappearance."

"There's no guarantee that they do," Koushiro responded, "And even so, if they were in fact strong enough to take down Angewomon then we should probably wait until we manage to open the Digital Gate so we could attack them at our full strength."

"We don't even know where they are right now anyways," Daisuke said glumly, "It's not going to be like going to the Digital World where we just open a port wherever we want and leave it to the Kaiser to find us – if he even wants to, that is."

Koushiro nodded, "Yes, this time we're going to have to be the ones doing the searching."

"Also…" Miyako said, "If they are responsible for Hikari… then they might also be the reason the Digital Gate is closed. We might need to defeat them in order to open it again."

Koushiro grimaced. Such a conclusion had also been nagging him at the back of his head, but he hadn't wanted to voice it. Miyako's words left him in stunned silence; he had no response to them. He spoke to change the topic, "We still haven't followed up on Takeru's observations; these two Digimon might merely be leading us astray."

"But this is the first real lead we have!" Daisuke protested, "The way that girl… the way she just vanished into thin air like that…"

"I think Daisuke's right," Miyako said, "The comparison in the way they disappeared is simply too identical to ignore. We should definitely look into it. It's very unlikely that all the recent events are completely unrelated."

Taichi's eyes had left the group. He stood stiff by the open window, letting the calm breeze soothe his temper as it flowed all around him. He sighed bitterly, facing the visible skyline from his place in the computer lab. He muttered to himself, "A beach full of darkness… Takeru, you wouldn't make that up, would you? Are the two Digimon kidnapping kids… and then taking them there? Just what the hell is going on around here?"

* * *

Daisuke had a restless sleep that night. Thoughts of the girl he failed to save continued to plague his dreams. XV-mon had saved him, and while both Taichi and Koushiro had congratulated him on V-mon's successful evolution to the adult level, they warned him that even XV-mon would probably not be enough to defeat the two Digimon that had attacked him. Such a direct fact did not bode well for Daisuke and he was determined to do something to set things right.

When morning finally came, Daisuke saw the TV news report about the kidnapping of the previous night. The girl's body had been found in Tokyo Bay. It was a confirmed death. And upon seeing those vivid images, Daisuke finally realized exactly what that something he was determined to do actually was.

The four remaining Chosen were separated: Miyako had her face constantly glued to a computer monitor, Iori was caving under the burden of being a Chosen, and Takeru continued to sulk in his depression due to his failure in saving Hikari. Daisuke had been placed in the position as their unofficial leader, and it was about time he acted like one. It was about time he brought the Chosen back together again before another child was kidnapped and killed.

He raced out the door with Chibimon in his arms as the television reporter proceeded to discuss the cause of death and what appeared to be an internal explosion within the girl's neck…

The only encouraging thought was that it wasn't Hikari's body that was dragged out of Tokyo Bay.

* * *

The spore had failed him, but it wasn't the end. There would be more attempts, more trials, and more children. The voice had not stopped feeding him ideas and he was fully embracing it now. Voice and Man now worked in union to recreate the dark seeds that would open the way for him to enter the Digital World. The spore in Ichijouji Ken was truly a fascinating design; it was coded to perfection. His first attempt at the seed was nowhere near the intended result; the test had failed and now he struggled desperatly to improve upon the design. The spore as it stood now was incapable of surviving within a human speciment. The body temperature would cause it to overheat and it would explode within the host. His eyes glazed over the pages of code on his computer screen, watching for the tiniest hint that detailed an error in his programming.

The harsh whispers in the background interrupted his train of thought; he tried to ignore them and focus on his work.

"This is terrible… we actually killed the girl," the male voice was saying.

"It was unintentional," the female responded, "Oikawa will fix the spore and it won't happen again."

"Even one life taken is too many," it was the male again, "And we almost killed that other boy, too… that goggle boy with the Digimon."

Oikawa's eyes snapped open at those last few words. He twirled around from his seat, rising to his feet and stomped towards his creations. The iris in his eye burned red. The voice was no longer speaking to him – he was the voice. And Oikawa's eyes were no longer his own.

"What did you say?" Oikawa demanded harshly.

The man-in-blue yelped, taking a step back, "N-nothing!"

"The boy with goggles, you said he had a Digimon," Oikawa eyed the two carefully.

"Some kid with some lizard-type Digimon," the woman-in-red reported, "I couldn't tell what it was. Walked on two legs, it evolved to save him and they flew off. He's probably one of those Chosen that's been giving our Kaiser a hard time."

Oikawa's eye's flared red, and he voiced his frustrations with a simple snarl, "Yagami!"

The woman raised a brow, "You know the kid?"

"Archnemon, Mummymon," he said, "Find that child, and kill him."

"You can't mean that," Mummymon frowned, "We're not killers…"

"You will do as I say!" Oikawa ordered. His eyes flared again, causing Mummymon to step back in fright. It was then that his human hand came flying towards the Digimon, catching Mummymon's wrist with his palm and tightening the grip. Oikawa eyed both of them as he voiced his spite, "This human vessel is rapidly becoming useless to me now that I've lost the Kaiser. I want that child dead, and you will obey me or I will take your lives just as easily as I had given them to you."

Archnemon narrowed her eyes towards him, "Oikawa? What's happened to you?"

"You will not refer to me with that pathetic name again," he answered, pulling on Mummymon's arm in order to lower the Digimon to his knees, "I am the great Vamdemon, and you will obey me without question. Now bow to your master!"

The human form pulled harder against Mummymon's arm, forcing him even lower. Mummymon screamed at the pain. Archnemon could only look on, wincing at the display of torture before her.

* * *

Miyako was the least likely to pose a problem in returning to what Daisuke considered to be proper Chosen activities and actions. Technically, he considered, she had never actually stopped or left active duty. She was always in constant contact with Koushiro as they worked on reopening the Digital Gate. Their progress wasn't much to speak of, but at least she was performing the part of an actual Chosen Child. Unfortunately Daisuke couldn't say the same for Iori and Takeru, and thus they became his first stops. He decided to pay a visit to Iori before school started. He knocked impatiently at the doorway until the younger boy appeared. And when he finally did, Daisuke wasted no time in filling his fellow Chosen in on the details.

By the time Daisuke had finished, Iori was visibly shivering at the doorway. He didn't even move to let Daisuke inside. His tone was drenched with fear and concern, "The girl is dead, Daisuke… I don't think… if Hikari-san is too… I just can't. I'm sorry."

"What's bringing this on?" Daisuke frowned, "We'll find Hikari-chan. I promise you, we will. But with those two Digimon out there we can't risk them kidnapping another kid like they did with that girl… we're Chosen Children; if we don't protect them who will?"

"Daisuke," Iori started, "My father… he died protecting someone. He left me and mom and grandpa. Hikari-san is gone, too, just like my father, all because she wanted to protect the Digital World. I can't just leave my mother like that… I just can't. Please understand."

With tears in his eyes, Iori shut the door before Daisuke could reply. The older boy stood outside the apartment dumbfounded. His frown could only deepen, "That didn't quite go as well as I thought it would."

"Maybe you'll have better luck with Takeru," Chibimon said.

"Right," Daisuke nodded and turned around to the elevator. The good news was that Takeru lived in the exact same building. The pair waited until the elevator doors opened and stepped inside. Daisuke pushed the number for Takeru's floor and tapped his foot impatiently as the elevator descended.

When he finally got to Takeru's door, he rasped his knuckle against it repeatedly. He continued despite the lack of response. He knew Takeru was inside; the blond had been skipping school for the entire week, and Daisuke was certain all that time was spent brooding unecessarily in his room.

"Oi! Takeru!" Daisuke shouted into the doorway, "It's Daisuke! Let me in!"

That seemed to rouse him up, as Daisuke could hear footsteps inside the apartment. The door opened a few seconds later; Takeru lazily let it drift as he let his fellow Chosen inside. Both Daisuke and Chibimon stepped in.

"Is there any news on Hikari-chan?" Takeru asked him.

Daisuke frowned, shaking his head, "Not quite… we have other problems though."

"I don't want to hear them," Takeru said.

Daisuke quirked a brow, "Well you still are. There are two Digimon in the real world; they're kidnapping children. I think it's possible they might have been the ones that took Hikari-chan, too."

That instantly caught Takeru's attention. He quickly mused over the revelation, dozens of questions entering his thoughts. Two Digimon were in the real world? How did they arrive with the Digital Gate locked? Were they simply leftovers from Vamdemon's invasion? If so… how did they remain so elusive until now?

"Patamon come over here," Takeru called to his partner. The winged Digimon appeared from the bedroom, flying overhead. They were both giving Daisuke their full attention now. Patamon looked slightly confused, but Takeru spoke for both of them, "Tell us everything, from the beginning."

* * *

"First time I saw him was over here," Mummymon said, "That girl crashed into him while trying to run away."

"So that means he was heading in the opposite direction," Archnemon mused. It was broad daylight now, and the two began tracking down the Chosen Child of the previous night. Mummymon had pointed out the corner block where he had first run into the boy.

"We really shouldn't be doing this," Mummymon frowned, "I can't even believe that other girl died and all of a sudden he wants us to kill another kid; it's just not right."

Archnemon shrugged, turning her head away from her partner to look down the road. She said, "There's a school in that direction. We should check it out – it's probably where he was heading."

"And then what," Mummymon started, "Are you really going to try and kill the kid? Just like you did last night?"

"So what if I am?" Archnemon scowled, "It's either his head or mine, and I rather like mine exactly where it is."

Archnemon turned towards the school and proceeded in the direction. She hadn't even waited for his reply. The debate was pointless to her – they were given an order and they were expected to carry it out. Their loyalties were with Oikawa, and Vamdemon was Oikawa for all intents and purposes. If he asked them to get their hands dirty, they would do so.

Her cell phone suddenly blared, startling her into an immediate stop as she answered. It was the only way for her to remain in contact with Oikawa while out on the job. She spoke into it irritably, "Now what?"

It was Oikawa's voice; he sounded strained, in pain, "Archnemon – don't – don't hurt the child…"

She blinked, "What?"

There was no response, only panting on the other end. She patiently waited a few seconds for the confirmation to cease the kill, but then Oikawa's voice appeared again. It was fully clear and confident this time. "Ignore that," he said, "Continue tracking that boy and make sure he's dead."

He then hung up the phone. She looked to Mummymon, who had been listening in, and mimicked his confused glance. The conversation had certainly brought question as to whether Oikawa and Vamdemon really were one and the same.

She couldn't help but shrug off the insecure feeling. Vamdemon was in charge for the time being, and until Oikawa was in control again it would be pointless for the two to knowingly put themselves in any danger from the powerful apparition that possessed their host. After all, what did it matter if the world lost one more child? The real Oikawa surely wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

She resumed her pace towards the school, "Come on, Mummymon. We've gotta find that kid."

* * *

"This is terrible," Patamon frowned from his perch atop the shelves in the computer lab. Poromon and Chibimon were both with him. They chatted amongst themselves about the two Digimon that were roaming about in the human world kidnapping children.

"Koushiro says they're very strong," Chibimon added, "That they were probably able to defeat Tailmon. Iori's very scared to come back – he thinks he will be taken away like Hikari was."

"There's no guarantee that they are the ones responsible for Hikari's disappearance," Poromon said.

"But Miyako did say that they might also be responsible for the Digital Gate being closed," Chibimon said.

"We're going to have to deal with them eventually," Patamon said, "Takeru told me we'd all be patrolling around the city as soon as school was out."

"Not gonna be easy to find them," Chibimon frowned, "Daisuke and I saw them vanish into an alley. It was all – poof – and they're gone!"

He waved his little arms at that last part to prove his point. And before either Poromon or Patamon could reply, a shockwave shook the room. The shelf toppled over; all three Digimon managed to jump off to avoid injury from the collision, but the same couldn't be said for the only computer with access to the Digital Gate. The wooden shelf fell over the monitor and tower box, knocking them both off the desk and onto the floor. Other computers in the lab shared similar fates and their power fizzled out upon their impact with the ground.

"What was that?" Chibimon wondered.

"It sounded like energy blasts being fired," Patamon said. He flew towards the window and looked out through the glass. Another blast shook the room. "It's coming from outside."

Poromon looked worried, "But the only ones outside right now are the soccer club for the morning practice…"

Chibimon's eyes widened, "Daisuke!"

The sounds of massive footsteps echoed throughout the hallways just outside the lab. The Digimon peered towards the door, and not a moment later Takeru and Miyako burst through it. Takeru shouted for his partner, "Patamon, let's go!"

Miyako did likewise, and all three Digimon ran towards the two humans. It was only a short distance to the outside of the school, but they were being delayed by the mass panic of the general student body. Students stumbled upon themselves as they aimed for the staircases. There was little room for the Chosen to move; the school was being attacked, and everybody was trying to flee. It was general chaos in the hallways and neither Takeru nor Miyako managed to make any progress in getting outside.

"By the time we get to Daisuke, it'll be too late," Miyako said.

"It's as if those two Digimon recognized him from the other night and came to finish him off for good," Takeru frowned. He grabbed Miyako by the hand and pulled her in to the nearby classroom. The three Digimon followed them there.

She scolded him, "What're you doing? We've got to get outside."

"Patamon," Takeru said, raising his D3 as it began to glow, "Blast that window and let's get out of here. We've got to get to Daisuke and fast!"

With a quick evolution to Angemon, Takeru's partner let loose a discharge of holy energy towards the school wall. The side of the building crumbled, allowing them quick access to the outer school grounds.

Miyako had quickly caught on. She lifted her own D3 and watched as Poromon evolved into Hawkmon. She then shouted, "Digimental Up!"

Angemon had flown ahead; Takeru picked up Chibimon and found a seat behind Miyako as they both mounted Holsmon. Immediately the winged beast followed suit after Angemon and they headed for the soccer field. Within seconds they had rounded the school building and were able to see the cause of the mass disruption. It was indeed energy blasts that were causing the nearby ground to shake. Daisuke was desperately trying to avoid being blown to bits by what looked like a mummy with a laser gun.

The mummy was a Digimon, that much was a given. Though the fact that Daisuke was still alive was shocking on its own. When Takeru witnessed the occurrence, he could immediately tell that the mummy Digimon had been intentionally missing his target. Takeru clenched his fist. He called out to his partner, "He's just toying with Daisuke! All he's doing is enjoying the fear and chaos he's causing! Take him down, Angemon!"

The angel Digimon was wasting no time. As he flew down to ground level he let loose another holy blast from his fist. He shouted, "_Heaven's Knuckle_!"

The beam hit the mummy from behind, causing him to stumble forwards. He quickly turned around, and let loose another volley from his gun. Again none of them hit their target, leaving Angemon standing tall and confused. Nevertheless he leaped forward; his wings gliding him through the air. He raised his staff and charged onwards, weapon first, into the melee frenzy.

On the other side of the field Holsmon descended, and Chibimon jumped off the mount and fell into his awaiting Chosen's arms. Daisuke gasped for air, but had just enough energy to catch his rapidly falling partner.

"Daisuke!" Chibimon cried out, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Daisuke breathed out a sigh of relief, "Thankfully… you guys need to be careful, there's another one of them out there. I lost track of her though."

Takeru looked around, "I don't see anyone else."

When his eyes fell upon Angemon he paled. The mummy had immobilized his partner with various bandages that extended from his arms. Angemon could no longer move. It was at that time that a female voice interrupted the commotion. The female-in-red had appeared. She called out to the mummy, "Mummymon quit fooling around and kill that goggle boy already. You're wasting our time here!"

"I tried," Mummymon defended himself, "But he's a fast little bugger! I kept missing!"

Miyako raised a brow in Daisuke direction. All he could do was shrug sheepishly in response.

"Absolutely worthless," she told him, and then she began to transform. It was unlike any Digimon evolution the Chosen had witnessed. Her human form was being replaced by a large mutated arachnid – with a female body on top and a beastly spider as the bottom. She scowled at her partner from her new form, "I'll take care of him myself!"

She rushed forward towards the three Chosen. Holsmon attempted to intercept her attack but his minimal intrusion was simply flicked off to the side by one of Archnemon's gigantuous arms and she continued her charge.

"This is not good…" Daisuke gulped. Light erupted from his D3, creating a sharp beam that aimed for Chibimon and allowed him to evolve. The Digivice continued to shriek and V-mon became XV-mon once again.

The blue draconic Digimon planted his feet sturdily in the ground, preparing to hold off the charge. Archnemon collided with him head on, and his open palms locked against her own, trying to push her back while keeping his footing locked with the dirt. She in turn also pushed forwards. With a mighty shove, XV-mon's grip gave away and he fell backwards; Archnemon kept right on top of him. She began ensnaring him with thick spider threads, keeping him entrapped to the ground with her webbing.

"XV-mon!" Daisuke called in desperation.

"Daisuke, we've got to leave!" Miyako pulled on his arm and began dragging him away from the two Digimon that had their goals set on his death.

Takeru looked on helplessly. Both Angemon and XV-mon were being immobilized by their opponents. The evils had their sights set on Daisuke now. They had taken Hikari and he had failed to save her, and now they were spreading further. His face changed to one of determination; he wouldn't let the darkness take another Chosen captive. He wouldn't allow himself to fail this time. He was the most experienced Chosen Child and it fell on his shoulders to protect the others. He needed to be confident in his ability for the darkness to be defeated. He would make sure that it would be driven back from the depths it had come from. He needed Daisuke to survive this day. And then together they would defeat these two abominations and rescue Hikari. The Child of Hope stood resilient.

The outline of his crest shone gold upon his chest. It was a feeling he hadn't experienced in quite some time, and he welcomed the surge of power with open arms. It was their key to victory. His D3 shrieked with energy, and he could feel in his heart that Angemon was being empowered by it.

The angel became surrounded by a blinding light; the bandages that kept him captive began to slowly give away. Mummymon was forced to shield his eye from the radiant glow. There was a final surge of energy as Angemon began to change form. Then out came the all too familiar phrase that echoed loudly in Takeru's ears, "Angemon! Evolve!"

* * *

Upamon stared out from the balcony window; the school was in plain sight and he could easily see the battle in the schoolyard. Iori had been largely disturbed by Daisuke's appearance at his doorstep earlier in the day, and had opted to stay home instead of going to his classes. Iori may have wanted to stay indoors, but right now Upamon could clearly see that the other Chosen needed their help. He called for his partner, "Iori! Iori! Come quick!"

Iori had immediately appeared. He looked over at Upamon questionably, "What's wrong?"

"Look! Look! The school's under attack!"

Iori said, "Daisuke-san will handle it."

"No, he won't," Upamon argued, "They're in trouble! We have to go help."

"I can't."

Upamon frowned, "Iori… your friends are in danger; don't you want to help them?"

Iori's expression fell, "I… I'm scared, Upamon. Hikari-san is gone… and that girl on the news is dead. Being a Chosen… at first it was fun, but then Agumon got enslaved, and Hikari-san disappeared," Iori's voice was now cracking, "I'm scared one day I might be gone too… and I won't be able to see my mom anymore… or my grandfather… just like my dad."

Upamon could feel the tears his partner was trying to contain. He tried to reassure him, "I won't let you disappear like Hikari did! I'll protect you, I swear!"

But Iori could only shake his head, "Tailmon wasn't able to save Hikari-san."

"No," Upamon shook his head, "Tailmon wasn't with Hikari when she disappeared. She wasn't able to protect her… but I promise I'll never leave you, Iori. I promise; I'll protect you from anything that might hurt you, if only you'll let me…"

Iori had to rub away his tears. He came down to his knees and extended his arms towards his partner. Upamon let himself be lifted up into the comforting hug. He nuzzled against Iori's chest. At that moment the D3 all the way on the other side of the room began shrieking uncontrollably, and Upamon felt himself engulfed in a sequence of brilliant white lights.

* * *

"_Excalibur_!" Holy Angemon shouted, his plasma blade materializing over his forearm as he slashed against the air towards his opponents. Mummymon barely managed to sidestep the assault in time; in his movements he toppled over and fell onto Archnemon causing them both to land roughly in the dirt. XV-mon had been freed and now both he and Holsmon were flanking Holy Angemon at his sides as they prepared their attacks against the two Digimon in the middle of the schoolyard.

The three Chosen partners surrounded the two viral Digimon now, and Holy Angemon raised his arm with his blade extended. He was fully prepared to fulfill his final attack to put an end to the threat. Archnemon turn over to face him before he was able to strike, and let loose a volley of venom from her lips. It rapidly spread over Holy Angemon and covered his frontal features. He stumbled backwards in pain, his hands reaching for his injured body and trying to remove the splashes of poisonous toxin that lingered over him.

The attack had taken both XV-mon and Holsmon by surprise. Mummymon used that to his advantage and immobilized them both with his bandages once again. It was at this time that a hard yellow surface knocked into him, sending him flying into Archnemon for a second time. The two virals collided with the soft earth below.

The Chosen Children looked towards their rescuer. It was definitely another Digimon, a large yellow Digimon easily resembling the extinct dinosaur ankylosaurus. Takeru half-smiled, "I'd say it's a pretty safe assumption that's Armadimon right there."

And to prove him right, Iori ran up to the group, "Hey guys! Are you all alright?"

Daisuke had a slightly injured leg and was leaning against Miyako for support. He nevertheless still smiled at seeing Iori, and raised him a thumbs up, "Never better! It's good to see you coming to join in on the fight."

"I couldn't leave you guys in trouble like this," Iori said, and then turned to his partner on the battlefield, "You can do it Ankylomon! Help the others and defeat those two so we can rescue Hikari!"

Archnemon rose to her feet yet again, and surveyed her surroundings. They were being beaten back and she quickly realized that the child would escape death this day. Vamdemon would not be pleased, but she refused to die here at the hands of these children. She turned to her partner as he, too, struggled to get back to his feet, "Mummymon, we've got to get out of here."

He nodded. Pulling his weapon up into position again, he let off another series of blasts. They were completely directed at the ground, and created a huge dust storm that covered the terrain. The four Digimon wasted no time in running to their partners and surrounding them for shelter before the cloud of dust managed to engulf them.

When the storm had finally cleared, both Archnemon and Mummymon were long gone.

* * *

Oikawa sighed irritably at his creations. They were miserable creatures, crawling back into the apartment and begging forgiveness for their failure in destroying the Yagami boy. He should've known they would fail. He merely waved them off, "Luckily I have other uses for you two. The new seed will be ready soon. Therefore I shall need another child; bring one to me."

The two half-breeds exited the room, and he felt himself lost in his thoughts again. Despite their failure, it had been a good day. The new prototype for the spore was complete, and the most wonderful news had been in the paper today.

Yagami Hikari was missing.

Oikawa laughed gleefully. The Eighth Chosen Child; the Child of Light that was destined to destroy him… was missing… gone…

He couldn't have possibly awoken to better news. Someone had done him a dear favor. With the Child of Light gone, both worlds were ripe for his taking. The time was coming for when he would finally allow himself to be shown to the Chosen Children. His eyes traced over to the laptop at his desk. He sighed in frustration; now if only he could get the Digital Gate to reopen…

* * *

The school had closed down and the computer lab was in ruins. Koushiro was not pleased; most of his coding attempts to open the Digital Gate had been lost. It was utter luck that he had a few small backups of past projects on his laptop; unfortunately those were from his attempts at opening the Gateway long before anyone had even heard of the Digimon Kaiser or even a D3. Of course the biggest concern was that the only Digital Gate known to have been opened in recent times was on a computer that was ruined beyond capable repair.

"They came with the specific intent on killing Daisuke," Miyako reported to him as he surveyed the mess later that day. Her tone quivered as she spoke.

Koushiro noted her barely maintained composure, "They must have recognized him from the alleyway during the kidnapping."

"It's very likely they will strike again," Hawkmon added. He hadn't yet devolved from his child level.

"This is a really bad case then," Koushiro said, "No Digimon had prior to this attacked us out in the open during our daily routine in the real world. If they targeted Daisuke for trying to stop their kidnapping before, it's entirely likely that they will recognize you, Iori and Takeru the same way and attack again when they deem you fit for easy picking."

Miyako shuddered, "That's not exactly encouraging."

Koushiro nodded, "No, it's not. You four should try to remain together at all times. I'm not sure how long the school will stay closed for repairs, but I'm going to resume efforts on opening the Digital Gate from home."

Miyako said, "You'll have a lot of backtracking to do, won't you?"

"I haven't exactly been making backups," Koushiro mumbled, "I had in no way planned for a Digimon attack. A hardware failure on one of the computers in the lab was fine by me, they all shared the same programs and the school's network made backups itself amongst all the hard drives. But this… this attack destroyed the entire system. The whole lab is fried; I can't save anything from it."

Miyako said, "I somehow get the feeling Taichi-san is going to be even unhappier with this than you are."

Koushiro sighed, "Yamato-san and I will deal with him. He hasn't exactly been the most pleasant to be around ever since Hikari-san disappeared. It's as expected. You four just keep your focus and prepare for the next Digimon attack."

* * *

The development of the spores had failed him, but that didn't matter now. The latest child had died during his testing as well, and his two servants were disposing yet another body here in the human world. He didn't care about that at this point anymore, the Digital Gate had somehow become unlocked – and thankfully the Digimon Kaiser had not stopped working behind the scenes.

The world he saw once the Gate had reopened was filled with Dark Towers – plenty numerous in number that it was more than enough to allow him entrance. He had to pause to muse for a moment; some of the towers were relaying stronger energy signatures than his own designs. They were weakening the Digital World defenses far greater than the originals, but how had that happened? Had the Kaiser managed to improve upon them?

He concluded that such answers no longer mattered as long as he was able to return to his home world.

It was then that Vamdemon's spirit escaped from Oikawa's body and re-entered the Digital World, leaving behind the lump of a human form that dropped to the hardwood floor. The sparkles of data that were his spirit began to take shape and reform, and Vamdemon was born again. He found himself within the Kaiser's base, and grinned. How perfectly fitting it was for him to be immediately presented by his new throne.

He surveyed the control room; one brow was raised in fascination at the schematics of the dark spirals. The human boy was enslaving perfect-level Digimon? Vamdemon was impressed with the Kaiser. He had certainly gone beyond the vampire lord's expectations. He brought up a list of the perfect's enslaved in the base. There was only one, but his eyes narrowed upon it as he read aloud Dagomon's name, and immediately flew off to the designated jail cell.

Vamdemon skid to a halt upon reaching his destination. He flew upwards to meet the behemoth face-to-face. He smirked, "So you're still alive, are you? I had thought you deleted by the first Chosen all those millennia ago…

"And yet here I find you enslaved by my very own human pet," Vamdemon continued, "How pathetic."

The power began to take form in his hands, and he let loose a blood-red stream of energy towards the spiral that kept Dagomon captive. The object burst apart and Dagomon found freedom once again.

The tentacles flared outwards in anger, but Dagomon managed to calm himself at the sight of the vampire. He spoke with uncertainty, "Vamdemon…?"

Vamdemon stood tall, confident, "I have no further use for the boy. You may take revenge for your enslavement if you wish."

The Dark God snarled, "The Kaiser had been your doing?"

Vamdemon shook his head, "Do what you will with the boy. I must attend to the dark towers and evolve. All worlds are currently mine for the taking; if you will not obey my orders then I will destroy you myself."

Vamdemon had already begun preparing his next attack. His palms radiated a dark red glow. Dagomon could only yield in reply, "As you wish…"

* * *

"Man, this sucks," Daisuke complained. He kicked an empty can of pop that littered the sidewalk as he passed by it. It skid across the ground for quite some distance before coming to a halt.

"At least pick it up and throw it in a bin," Takeru commented, falling into step with his classmate. He nudged at his shoulder, trying to readjust his backpack. He could feel Patamon squirming inside.

"We should be out looking for the bad guys," Daisuke said, "And looking for Hikari-chan, and also protecting other kids from being kidnapped – don't they know how important this is?"

"At least we're done for the day," Takeru said, "So just keep your eyes open for any sign of Mummymon or Archnemon. They're probably trailing us or looking for new victims."

"Just whose side are you on here?" Daisuke growled. They reached the tin can and Daisuke kicked it again. This time it flew off across the street and into the traffic. A car honked at them as it passed by and flattened it. Daisuke shrugged and turned back to face his friend, "I mean the school's shut, right? This should be the perfect time for us to find those two and take them out – but no – our parents send us off to a cram school instead. What the hell is that about?"

"Mom's angry with me for cutting class, says this'll be a good chance for me to catch up on all the studies I've missed."

"If they aren't gonna let me chase down the evil Digimon then they should be letting me rest at home with Chibimon," Daisuke said, "I'm still injured, y'know?"

Takeru smiled, "Your leg or your pride?"

Daisuke chuckled, "A little of both, I guess; a bit more of the latter, though."

"We'll find them," Takeru said, "They won't catch us unprepared like that again."

Daisuke nodded, pumping a fist into the air, "They'll be no match for us! Right, Chibimon?"

A voice tried to speak from inside Daisuke's backpack, but was completely droned out and came out muffled and barely audible. The Chosen chuckled, "I'll take that as an affirmative!"

"You know that's pretty cool," Takeru suddenly said, "I hadn't known you managed to get V-mon to evolve to adult until I saw him in the battle yesterday."

Daisuke let out a nervous laugh, "Oh, that… hah, yeah, well, it was more of a fluke really. The big guy evolved to save my butt; else I'd have been a goner back when we first saw Mummymon after that one girl."

"Most evolutions to adult occur for that very reason," Takeru said. He paused for a moment to reminisce, "Same thing happened for me and Patamon."

"Really?" Daisuke wondered, remembering back to the first time he had seen Angemon and how easy it had seemed to attain that evolution. "First time I saw Angemon it didn't seem like anything that out of the ordinary, you just asked him to do it and he did. It wasn't even you that was in trouble back then; it was Hikari."

The two stopped at a red light, waiting to cross. Takeru chuckled at his fellow Chosen, "Now that just comes with time and experience, I suppose. It's usually the second or third time when you evolve your Digimon that you really get a feel for how the Digivice works. And after that you can trigger it whenever."

Daisuke's eyes stared bewildered. He hadn't known that fact about evolution. All the older children's Digimon had evolved to adult with such ease that he hadn't thought it any different from simply using his Digimental to access V-mon's armor forms. Takeru filled in some more gaps and told him about how the Digivice accesses powers from within the Chosen to allow their partners to evolve. It was indeed very different from using a Digimental as a power source.

It was then that the traffic light turned green, and the two began crossing the street.

Takeru asked, "Where exactly are we headed? Shouldn't we be heading home now that cram school's done?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Daisuke asked, pointing towards the nearby shoreline, "We're heading to the beach!"

"You want to go this late?" Takeru frowned, "The sun is already down."

Daisuke shrugged, "Now's a good a time as any. 'Sides, it's your idea that Hikari's at a beach somewhere. What's with the sudden hesitation?"

Takeru said nothing as they treaded down the path towards the sandy shores. It was true he thought the beach had a strong connection with Hikari's disappearance; he just wasn't sure what that connection was. How did the beach relate to her nightmares of darkness? It didn't quite add up, and finding Hikari during a walk along the shoreline was highly doubtful. While there were also unlikely to be any swimmers this time of day, all the more this simply made it easier to search.

And all the easier to search, that Daisuke suddenly paused and pulled Takeru backwards causing him to halt as well. He pointed, and spoke with a hushed whisper, "What's that look like to you?"

Takeru's eyes followed the finger to a moving silhouette. He sighed, not bothering to whisper back, "It's just some man carrying something."

"In a sack over his shoulder?" Daisuke asked unconvinced, "The girl that went missing was found in the Bay yesterday. What do you think is about to happen here?"

"Fine, let's go find out what this is all about… just be discreet. I don't want some random stranger thinking we're suspecting him of something. It might cause us trouble."

They edged closer to the man. He was walking in their direction. Daisuke strained his eyes in an attempt to get a clearer look. It wasn't quite as easy due to the lack of lighting. When at last he was able to make out a tint of blue, the man in front of them came to a sudden stop. He stood on a ledge of a rocky cliff, and let the sack drop down into the waters below.

"What the…" Takeru voiced his confusion.

"I told you!" Daisuke shouted, flipping his backpack to his front and unzipping it to let Chibimon out, "Come on! It's Mummymon!"

The Digimon in front of them turned to leave, and it appeared as though he only then realized there was someone watching him. His reaction to their presence was a quick twirl and leap towards the opposite direction. His legs carried him away from them as fast as they could.

Daisuke sprinted off after him. Chibimon quickly evolved and followed. Takeru was only a few steps behind. He fumbled with opening his backpack during his run, trying to keep pace. He finally managed to open the zipper, and Patamon flew out.

"What's the scoop?" He asked his partner.

"Mummymon!" Takeru shouted, "Up ahead. You've gotta catch up to him!"

Patamon nodded; the Digivice at Takeru's belt shone to life, and the beam of energy impaled Patamon as the small Digimon flew on ahead of the two Chosen. Now Angemon, he soared through the air with blazing speed. Quickly catching up to his target, he shouted out his attack, "_Heaven's Knuckle_!"

The holy blast slammed against Mummymon's back, sending him toppling forward face first into the sand. The Chosen reached him not too soon after. Angemon landed in front of him to block off any further attempts to run.

Daisuke shut his eyes, concentrating hard. He gripped his D3 tightly, willing every bit of his strength to allow V-mon to evolve. It wasn't happening.

"Daisuke," V-mon frowned beside him.

The Chosen sighed. He didn't have time to think this through, not now when Mummymon could escape at any moment. He lifted his D-Terminal; he'd have to use armored evolution this time around. A red light shot out of the screen as Daisuke shouted for his partner, "Digimental Up!"

On the battlefield Angemon remained stationary in his place in the air as he watched Mummymon scramble to his feet. He declared, "There won't be an escape this time. I won't allow it. You won't be harming any more children."

Mummymon stuttered as he attempted to defend himself, "It was… it was an accident! There was nothing I could do!"

Takeru shouted at him, "It is because of you that two children are dead! And Hikari is missing! Tell us where she is! Give her back!"

"You tell 'em!" Daisuke nodded, joining the fight.

Fladramon leaped in front of Mummymon, and let loose his missile attack, "_Knuckle Fire_!"

The flames arose from his clawed fists, soaring towards their target. Mummymon shielded himself from their blows, and tried again to flee. His attempts were interrupted by Angemon on all sides. He halted all actions, and was slowly forced into backing away towards the sea by the two advancing Digimon. He pleaded with his opponents, "Please… I'm sorry. Believe me… I never wanted any of this…"

"Are you noticing something?" Daisuke spoke.

"Yeah," Takeru answered, "He's not fighting back."

"What's up with him?" Daisuke wondered, "That was a body bag he threw over the ledge, wasn't it?"

Takeru frowned, a shiver running down his spine, "The chances of that are highly likely…"

"Yeah…" Daisuke spoke with uncertainty, looking back to the ledge Mummymon had dumped the sack. "We need to get down there and call an ambulance. They might still be alive."

"Yagami," a voice murmured.

"What was that?" Takeru looked around.

"Beats me," Daisuke said.

"Yagami," the voice spoke more clearly now, and the two Chosen were able to follow the sound. Out of the shadow of a nearby building stepped out the woman-in-red.

"Archnemon!" Takeru spat.

She ignored him. Her eyes were fixated on Daisuke. She spoke again, "Tell me, Yagami; what do you know of Vamdemon?"

Her question brought about an abrupt silence into the air as the three exchanged looks; Archnemon's full of curiosity, Daisuke's full of confusion, and Takeru's full of fear and terror.

* * *

Chapter Notes:  
- I'm taking the involvement of the appearance of Angewomon in the original "Call of Dagomon" as a means that the crest powers are slowly returning to the original eight Chosen.  
- Cram school is basically the equivalent of night classes. Students in Japan go to cram school in order to either catch up on their studies or to better prepare themselves when taking entrance exams for upper level schools.  
- Vamdemon's dialogue towards the enslaved Dagomon hints he was one of the evils the first five Chosen banished from the Digital World. This idea compliments the fact that the shadow creatures from the Dark Ocean aren't Digimon, yet they follow a digital being as their God.  
- The process of evolution was described during the primary episodes of the first Adventure. It's worth noting that the more times a Digimon evolves the easier it is for them to attain said evolution. At first adult levels were always caused by the Chosen being in danger, but at later times the Chosen are able to call upon the evolution at will.  
- While Ken seems to have mastered Wormmon's evolution to adult, Daisuke hasn't quite gotten V-mon's down. Both appearances of XV-mon were incidental due to Daisuke being in danger during both cases.


	3. Kindness and Radiance

Date Started: October 1st, 2008  
Date Finished: February 16, 2009

* * *

Summary_: It was a day meant to be experienced only by Hope and Light. Instead the Digital Gate remains closed, Hikari has been taken by the Dark God, and Oikawa is stirring. In the meantime the Kaiser's reign is threatened by strange shadows from another world..._

* * *

World of Twilight

Chapter 3 – Kindness and Radiance

_Oikawa's voice broke through the closed doors. He spoke with an echo that carried over his powerful presence. It was a voice that radiated fear and demanded unconditional loyalty and obedience._

"_You want to be smarter?" He was saying, "You want to be stronger and faster, don't you?"_

"_I just want to go home…" another voice whimpered._

_Mummymon could almost hear the dark smile that crept up Oikawa's face at that response. The echoing voice came again, "I will grant you the desires that are deep within your rotting heart. You will be a child prodigy: a perfect human amongst the race of these pathetic insects. And you will thank me for it."_

_Mummymon covered both ears as the scream then came. It lasted oh so long. As long as eternity to his ears, yet it was in reality for a mere few seconds. The screams then faded, and he could feel the large thump. He knew that the child had died and their lifeless body now lay crumpled to the ground._

"_I can't bare to listen to this anymore," Archnemon spat, "Even I have my limits, and he's gone too far. He's taking pleasure in this, I'm sure of it."_

_Mummymon frowned, "Even one child was already too many, and now a second…"_

"_He'll want you to get rid of it soon."_

"_We are his children," Mummymon said, "That might be us one day."_

_The doorway suddenly opened. Oikawa held the poor young girl in a single arm. He dropped her body right by them and walked back into the other room. He shouted through the closed door, "Dispose of it!"_

_Archnemon remained unfazed by the action. This man was no longer Oikawa. Vamdemon had taken full control. She stated simply, "He won't last long enough to enjoy it."_

"_What do you mean?"_

_Archnemon snarled, "We're going to kill him."_

* * *

"Got any news for us, Koushiro?" Taichi and Yamato had arrived at his home. They came to check in on him and on any progress he might have made in regards to opening the Digital Gate.

The redheaded boy turned around to face them. He sighed deeply, showing the frustration of his constant failure. All the energy spent towards opening the Gate and having nothing to show for it was beginning to take its toll, "Nothing, absolutely nothing – it's as if the Digital World no longer exists. The Digivices… the D3's, they aren't reacting to anything unless it's an evolution."

"Are you able to do something while one of the Chosen is evolving their Digimon?" Yamato wondered.

Koushiro offered him a half-smile, "Wish I could, but an evolution is over within a split second. That's sadly nowhere near the appropriate time span for me to make any real progress."

"Hey – Koushiro," Taichi said. He raised his brow in interest at something on the computer monitor behind Izumi, "When the Gate is closed… it's marked as being red isn't it?"

Koushiro nodded, cocking his head towards Taichi's direction. He confirmed, "That's right."

Taichi pointed behind him, "Then how come it's green right now?"

Koushiro's eyes widened and he twirled around in his seat immediately. His rubbed his eyes with his knuckles, once, twice, and a third time; he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He tried to find his voice, "The Digital Gate… its open."

"How is this possible?" Yamato asked, "We don't even have a D3 with us."

Koushiro wasn't given enough time to provide an answer: out of the computer monitor jumped out various figures in a state of panic. Koushiro yelped as he fell backwards; the many piles of bodies that came out of the Digital World all toppled over him.

Taichi and Yamato tried to make sense of what had just happened. They both narrowed their eyes at the form they instantly recognized as the Digimon Kaiser, but their attention was immediately averted to the prone human that was lying on the ground, "Hikari!"

They rushed towards her; the two boys slowly picking her up and carefully resting her on Koushiro's bed. Her partner had evolved to Salamon by porting to the real world; she looked on at Hikari worriedly.

Koushiro then got to his feet and looked about his room wide-eyed. He rubbed at his head, "What just happened?"

"Ah! Koushiro-han, it's good to see you again! Though I wish it could've been under better circumstances!"

Koushiro blinked, "Tentomon?"

"We all made it through," that was Agumon. He looked around bewildered. His eyes then fell upon his partner near the bedside, "Taichi!"

The boy in question turned to look at his Digimon. He could only faintly nod, and returned his attention back to his unconscious sister. He pulled the bed covers up to her neckline. Yamato looked to the Digimon, "What happened to her?"

"That's a good question," said the Digimon Kaiser.

"I didn't ask you," Yamato spat.

"Yamato," Gabumon frowned, "Ken helped save her."

"Is that so?" the blond challenged.

"He did," Piyomon said, "He really did. He saved Hikari-chan; and the rest of us just now!"

Palmon frowned, "But we left the village of beginnings behind… who knows what Dagomon is doing back there now…"

Gomamon then spoke up, "And was he spouting out Vamdemon's name? I thought we took out that guy."

Yamato and Taichi looked pale at the mention of Vamdemon. Koushiro, however, simply rubbed at his forehead some more. This was too much information to take in at once. He announced, "Alright, alright! Everyone in the living room; that includes you, Ken, I want to hear everything – and from the beginning this time!"

He rushed everyone out of his tiny bedroom, leaving behind only Salamon, Taichi, and Hikari. Taichi half-smiled; he knew Koushiro wanted to leave him with his sister for a short while, and would tell him all that he learned after they had their meeting in the other room.

Salamon crawled over to Taichi's side on all fours. She looked up at the Chosen. They would discuss Vamdemon later; at this time Hikari was more important. "What's wrong with her?" she asked. "She was fine just a moment ago in the Digital World."

"I don't know," Taichi frowned, "She's breathing; but she feels slightly feverish, and she's constantly shivering. It's almost as if she can't calm down."

"It must have been Dagomon," Salamon growled the name.

"What happened to you two?" Taichi turned to look at the Digimon, "And who is this Dagomon?"

Salamon frowned. She didn't know too much about the Dark God, either. "He rules over a world of darkness; his underlings captured Hikari… I wasn't able to protect her from them. It must have been horrifying for her. I can't imagine what Hikari must have gone through before Ken rescued her."

"Ken," Taichi repeated. The Digimon Kaiser had rescued Hikari? Wasn't he supposed to have been the enemy?

"I can't understand why she's like this," a new voice spoke.

Taichi turned towards the doorway, seeing the Digimon Kaiser with Wormmon on his shoulder. Ken explained himself, "They've heard my side of the story; now they're hearing the other Digimon out."

"You certainly have some explaining to do," Taichi frowned.

Ken ignored him. He walked over and knelt down by Hikari. He rustled his brows in confusion, "I really don't get it… she was perfectly fine in…. oh, of course! It's the Digital World!"

"What are you going on about?" Taichi sighed.

"Ken? What do you mean?" It was Wormmon this time.

"You weren't there to see it, but when Hikari awoke back in the Digital World her clothes were rematerializing. I didn't think much of it, but now I see what was going on – it wasn't just about the clothes, the Digital World itself was healing her. It was helping her overcome the trauma she faced in the shadow world."

"I see," Wormmon said.

Ken looked to the computer monitor, "The Gate is still open. We have to go back and defeat Dagomon so Hikari can go to the Digital World and fully recover from this."

He received a confused look from the elder Chosen in the room, "Ken… why exactly are you doing this?"

Ken blinked. He hadn't quite expected such a question – and did he even have an answer? The would-be Kaiser could only shake his head in response, "I should have killed Dagomon when I had the chance. I feel responsible for this…"

He scooped up Wormmon, narrowed his eyes and lifted the D3 towards the computer, "Once Dagomon is defeated I'll come here again and take Hikari back to the Digital World!"

"What – hey – wait a second," Taichi called after him, but the younger boy had already ported into the Digital World. He then looked down to Salamon, who stood by his feet. He asked, referring to Ken "Was that… a crest shining on his chest just now?"

Salamon could only offer a shrug in reply.

* * *

"What did you just say?" Takeru demanded. The chill he received from simply hearing Vamdemon's name made him stand on edge.

"I am speaking to the Yagami boy," Archnemon said, "Kindly mind your own matters and stay out of mine."

Daisuke blinked, pointing at himself, "Yagami? You're talking about me?"

Takeru narrowed his eyes, "Are you referring to Taichi?"

Archnemon sighed in annoyance. "I don't know nor do I care what his name is. What I do know is that Vamdemon wants the Yagami boy dead. That would be you - now why would that be?" her glance traveled to Daisuke as she continued to speak, "Just your name being mentioned sends him into a fit of rage."

"Lady, you've got your Chosen mixed up or something 'cause I don't have a clue as to what you're talking about. Takeru, you know something here that I don't?"

Takeru frowned, "She's talking about Taichi. He and WarGreymon dealt the killing blow when we faced Vamdemon all those years ago. I'm guessing he just has you two confused."

Archnemon scoffed, turning to leave, "So all this time it was the wrong child? How pitiful he is."

"Wait a second!" Takeru shouted after her, "Vamdemon is supposed to be dead! What's going on?"

"Oh, he's very much alive," Archnemon spoke, "In fact he's in possession of our current host. He's to blame for the recent deaths of the children. Right now we're just trying to clean up his mess."

Takeru scowled. How was Vamdemon alive? He turned to his partner. Angemon and Fladramon had Mummymon cornered. Neither side was making a move. He called, "Angemon! That's enough, come back here!"

Daisuke blinked at Takeru, but did likewise, "Fladramon, you, too. I get the feeling we're fighting the wrong baddies here."

Angemon abandoned Mummymon, flying upwards and landed beside his partner. He pointed his staff towards Archnemon, "What is she doing here?"

"She's our new source of information," Takeru said, "Apparently Vamdemon is behind all this."

His partner didn't bother to hide any of the tension and shock that revelation revealed. He slowly lowered his staff, and stood by his partner to wait for further words.

"Well, then," Daisuke said, as Fladramon joined the group. Mummymon followed right after and took a stand by Archnemon. "I've got very little idea as to who this Vamdemon guy is, but I'm pretty sure we'll all ears. So start yapping, what's going on and what'd he do with Hikari-chan?"

Archnemon shrugged, "She's probably dead. He had us dump both the children in the water after they'd expired. Don't know which one of those was your Hikari-chan."

Takeru's eyes widened and Angemon looked ready to resume his attack.

"Err," Daisuke began, and immediately came to a halt. He was rather taken by surprise by how casual Archnemon was reacting to all this; "No, not them… Yagami Hikari, another Chosen like us, right? Short brown hair, about my height, has a Tailmon for a partner?"

He made several hand gestures in describing her, but it didn't seem to get any reaction from the two Digimon. Archnemon sighed in irritation, "I've no idea who you're talking about. Can we get back to Vamdemon now?"

"You're saying Vamdemon isn't responsible for Hikari's disappearance?" Takeru asked in surprise. Out of all the Chosen Children, Hikari would have been his prime target. At the mere mention of Vamdemon, Takeru could almost feel every piece of the puzzle coming together. But if even Vamdemon wasn't responsible for Hikari's disappearance, then just what had happened to her?

"Must I repeat myself?" Archnemon replied.

"It would seem then that Vamdemon is as much effected by the Digital Gate shutting down as we are," Angemon spoke, "He might have been lurking in the shadows all this time, going back and forth between the human and digital worlds without our knowledge. Now that the Gateway is closed he's probably stuck here in the human world, and that has forced him to resurface."

"So then we can pretty much assume this Vamdemon guy isn't responsible for either Hikari or the Gate," Daisuke frowned, "Well there goes our conclusion to this mess."

"Alright, alright," Takeru said, facing Archnemon and Mummymon, "You two. I want to know everything. How is Vamdemon alive? Where is he now? And just what is he trying to accomplish through all this?"

Archnemon's lip curled up into a smile, "Ah, at last. A common interest…"

* * *

Ichijouji Ken found himself back on File Island. He was near the Village again, but the eggs had gone. He couldn't see Elecmon, or any other Digimon nearby either. The only sounds were those of destruction and the panic from afar. The cries of fear traveled to his ears as many lower formed Digimon tried to escape the wraith of the Dark God. He looked upwards, seeing Dagomon continuing to ride his floating fortress in a merciless path of destruction.

"What will we do now?" Wormmon asked.

Ken stood firm, the glow on his chest ever increasing, "We will defeat him. I will correct my ill by allowing him to live and we will make the Digital World safe again for Hikari to return and recover."

He felt the familiar shriek upon his D3. He held the device in his arms, and the majestic light exploded from it in a rapid beam of energy. It aimed towards his partner and engulfed the surrounding area around him. The familiar form of Stingmon appeared in front of him, but the display of evolutionary radiance did not end there; the pale crimson glow from his chest continued.

And Stingmon shouted the words as the light overwhelmed him, and his body began to morph. The green plating from his adult evolution expanded to cover his now much larger form. Draconic claws and muscular arms extended from his torso, steadily lifted off the ground by powerfully armored legs and a twin pair of sturdy silk wings. "Stingmon evolve! DinoBeemon!"

Ken stared upon his partner's new form. He had not used appropriate methods to battle Dagomon before. He had opted to use his slaves instead; he had forced the Chosen's partners to evolve and fight for him simply because he himself could not. He had sacrificed dozens of Tyrannomon, Airdramon, and Seadramon in his invasion against the shadow world. This would change now. Dagomon would fall, and the Digimon Kaiser – no, not the Digimon Kaiser – and Ichijouji Ken would be the one to come out victorious.

* * *

It was time for the group to part. Both Mummymon and Archnemon were bound for Oikawa's apartment, lest Vamdemon grow suspicious of their currently longer than usual outing. With two new allies, the focus had now shifted to eliminating the threat of Vamdemon.

"I'll head to the police station and tell them about the girl," Daisuke said, "Then it'll be off to find Taichi-san. He'll need to know that Vamdemon has a hit on his head."

Takeru nodded, "I'll go to see Koushiro then; he'll want to be clued in on what's going on. I'll grab my D-Terminal and let everyone else know about this, too. Vamdemon has not once been an easy fight."

The two boys nodded and parted ways. Takeru looked back as Daisuke and V-mon sprinted off down the road. He then turned to his partner, and took out his D-Terminal. He typed up a quick message for the other Chosen – Emergency meeting at Koushiro's. Vamdemon's back.

"Sounds urgent," Patamon commented about the note.

Takeru nodded, "It is, now c'mon, let's get going."

* * *

"Ken said the Digital World would help her recover," Taichi said, "I want to take her back there while the Gate is still open."

"Out of the question," Koushiro responded. He took back his seat at his computer desk and glanced at his monitor, "There are way too many towers up. If this Dagomon is attacking the Digital World, there's no way you'll be able to evolve Agumon over there. It's safer for both us and for Hikari to remain right here, at least until Daisuke-kun or one of the others gets here."

"And what're we going to do about Vamdemon?" Taichi asked, "This Dagomon character is apparently just another pawn."

"Yeah, why is Vamdemon still alive?" Yamato wondered, too.

"Well, we haven't actually seen him," Agumon said.

Tentomon spoke up, too, "That's true, it was merely Dagomon shouting out his name. It could easily be a simple coincidence."

"I wouldn't count on it," Salamon said, "If anyone is able to come back from the dead it would be him."

"I'm thinking the same," Koushiro said, "Regardless, the question of whether Vamdemon is alive or not is unimportant at this time. What we do know is that he has a growing influence, and that's bad enough as far as I'm concerned, especially if a Digimon as powerful as this Dagomon is willing to serve under his name."

"Then we have to bring his reign down all over again," Taichi said, "We'll go into the Digital World and join Ken in defeating this guy. I mean, c'mon, he'll probably turn his towers off if we're facing the same enemy, right?"

Yamato scowled, "This is the same kid that enslaved our Digimon to save Hikari."

Koushiro frowned, his gaze traveling towards his bed where Hikari consistently shivered and twitched while she rested. "Though I can't agree with his methods, he did get the job done."

"And we did consent to it," Gabumon said.

Yamato sighed. It was indeed to save Hikari. The Digimon had acted as if they didn't have a choice. It still didn't mean that he had to just accept it. What if they had been tricked? It had always been an option for the Kaiser to simply change his mind and decide to keep them as his personal pets forever. How would have Takeru and the others managed to stop him then?

"Thank you, everyone," Taichi said to the Digimon, "I know it must have been hard to willingly allow the Kaiser to put spirals on you… but you saved my little sister."

"Taichi," Agumon nudged his partner, "It's alright. Hikari-chan means a lot to all of us, too. Isn't that right?"

The partners all nodded in agreement. Taichi felt the warmth and honesty of their reactions. In all his joyful sadness at finally having his sister back, he couldn't help but simply smile.

"We have to gather everyone," Koushiro interrupted their moment, "Get Daisuke and the others, and then all of us will enter the Digital World. We'll stop Dagomon and find out what the full story behind Vamdemon is."

Taichi folded his arms; his smile had quickly faded. "I'm not leaving her."

Koushiro mused, "Alright then. Yamato and I will round up the troops, and you can stay here with Hikari. Gomamon and Piyomon can come with us, too, and we'll meet up with Jyou and Sora. All agreed?"

Taichi nodded, "That sounds good."

Palmon frowned, "What about Mimi?"

Koushiro and Taichi exchanged glances. The younger boy spoke, "I'll contact Mimi and see if she can also access the Digital Gate. I'll see if I can use it to send Palmon over there or hopefully bring Mimi over here."

* * *

Ken figured he should have thought this through. He had leapt into danger with only Stingmon as his offensive. While it was a plus that his partner had evolved a step further than anticipated, he soon realized that he was still severely outgunned. He wouldn't admit it, but without the spiral-enslaved perfects on his side, it was Dagomon that currently had the advantage in their skirmish. Stingmon had been a melee fighter, and DinoBeemon was apparently no different. His partner had to reply on close hand-to-hand combat; all the while Dagomon had fortified himself within his flying fortress, and to top that off there had been no end to the ranged attacks at the Dark God's disposal. For the first time in several days, Ken had to bite his lip in order to keep himself from cursing at his partner's ineptitude.

The fortress now floated almost directly above him. He could see DinoBeemon dodging tentacle arms left and right as he tried to get himself into closer ranged combat. And it was then that the unexpected occurred: a dark tower dropped from the Kaiser's old base and imprinted itself into the ground below. Ken's wide eyed gaze immediately flew towards the D3 in his hands. With a breath of relief he found that the tower wasn't siphoning his partner's powers.

He could hear the roar of Dagomon from above, and the tentacle arms shot outwards towards his partner from all directions. "_Tentacle Claw_!"

As if DinoBeemon had been expecting such an attack, he prepared his intended counter; his body distorted and blurred, the appendage phasing directly through him. And then his image duplicated, splitting apart into several exact copies. "_Hell Masquerade_!"

Ken looked on as the replica's charged forward, swirling around and doing their best in avoiding any and all of Dagomon's offenses. With each copy Dagomon would manage to hit, it would simply phase from existence and another two would move in to take its place. Ken allowed himself a confident grin as his partner finally moved in with an attack. DinoBeemon's powerful claws raked against the walls of the fortress, inching ever closer towards Dagomon's core.

"Keep it up!" Ken yelled from below, "The fortress is already half destroyed, finish up the job so we can take him out!"

"And then what?" a voice asked him, "You continue conquering the Digital World and enslaving innocent Digimon?"

Ken turned around to follow the source, only to be met with a fist connecting to his face. He stumbled backwards, his footing left him, and he toppled to the ground. His hand came up to his cheek instinctively to rub away at the soreness. His eyes traveled to his attacker, and met with one of the Chosen Children.

"Cool it, Takeru," the older Yagami sibling frowned at him from behind. He held his sister in his arms. She stirred; eyes still clenched and shut, she didn't appear to be anywhere close to waking. Agumon and Salamon flanked her sides protectively.

"He's the Digimon Kaiser!" Takeru responded, "I can't believe you let him come back to the Digital World like this, Taichi-san."

Ken let out a cough; it took him a moment to find his voice. He stood up, eyes meeting with the Chosen in front of him, "You're both fools. Why have you brought her back? Dagomon is still alive."

Any further exchanges were cut short by a dust cloud rising into the air. Ken twirled about immediately, his eyes searching for the source. An impact crater was nearby, and out of the dust appeared DinoBeemon. Ken's eyes searched for wounds upon his partner, but the perfect was showing no fatigue as he rose to his feet again and took to the air once more.

The tentacle appendages shot out in offensive against DinoBeemon once more; his mirror images had faded, leaving him to fend for himself. He easily managed to dodge and the two combatants fell into a stalemate once again.

"Ah," the Dark God finally spoke, "More Chosen have arrived… and you've brought back to me the Child of Light. Magnificent."

"Is that… Dagomon?" Salamon asked, her gaze traveling upwards to the battle.

"I won't let you take her!" The shout had come simultaneously from both Ken and Takeru. The two shared a glare as Dagomon howled in laughter above.

"What makes you think you'll be able to stop me?"

"Taichi," Agumon turned to his partner, "You have to evolve me!"

"Don't bother," Ken grit his teeth, pointing towards the nearby tower. "There won't be any evolution around here."

"Then we'll just destroy it first," Takeru said. He raised his D3 towards Patamon in preparation for an armor evolution. Yet before he could even begin, the ground shook around them and the dust lifted into the air once more. His eyes trailed towards the tower, and widened when he realized that it was the source of the tremor. The dark tower was being lifted, uprooted from the earth.

"What's going on?" Agumon asked towards Ken.

"I have no idea," Ken responded. He too, stared with wide eyes at the floating tower. He hadn't known them to be capable of such movement. And as soon as it was fully lifted into the air, the tower flew away from the island at rapid speed. Ken's eyes followed it towards the horizon where it slowly began fading from his vision.

It was Dagomon that supplied them with the answers. He had caught DinoBeemon with his lengthy arms, holding him wrapped and imprisoned. He let out a hollow laugh, "You've certainly proven yourself to be a more than capable pet for our new master, boy. It is fortunate for me that he has no further need of you now that the dark towers shall allow him to evolve."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ken shouted up at him in response.

DinoBeemon broke free from the Dark God's grasp, interrupting any of his further talks with the Chosen. He immediately flew into the melee, and resumed his attack with fierce kicks and vicious claws.

"Vamdemon," Taichi cursed down below; he had clenched his fist, his eyes also following the rapidly disappearing tower. He looked towards the others, beckoning Takeru over.

"Taichi-san, what're we going to do?" Takeru spoke, "If Vamdemon evolves again…"

Taichi released his sister, slowly letting her body rest flat against the ground. He then stood, eyeing his fellow Chosen, "You stay here with Ken and take care of Hikari. Agumon and I are going to go after Vamdemon. Yamato and Koushiro should be arriving soon, let them know what's going on as soon as they get here."

Takeru frowned, risking a glance towards the Digimon Kaiser. Ken met him with an equally apathetic look. There was little chance he could convince Taichi to remain behind, and while he wanted to go after Vamdemon as well, he refused to leave Hikari alone with the Kaiser. And taking her along with them towards Vamdemon was certainly unacceptable for either of them to consider. Takeru turned back to face Taichi again, "All right, I'll take care of Hikari while you're gone."

Taichi extended his arm to Takeru's shoulder, holding eye contact with the younger Chosen, "Keep her safe."

"We won't let her come to any harm," Salamon added.

Taichi then turned to his partner. Both he and Agumon shared a nod. He could feel the familiar surge of energy flowing through him. He gripped his Digivice as it shrieked with power; light erupted from it. His old crest of courage likewise illuminated with a bright orange color atop his chest, covering his features in an elegant transcendent aura. With the dark energy of the towers gone, and knowing through Takeru that the powers of their crests were beginning to replenish, Agumon's evolution to WarGreymon had been all too easy. The large ultimate emerged near his Chosen, and not a moment later the two had taken off into the sky in pursuit of the retreating dark tower.

"What should we do?" Patamon asked his Chosen.

Takeru looked to Hikari; her chest heaved up and down in her breathing, he could tell she felt strained, her eyelids constantly twitched. She was fighting to open her eyes again. His gaze then turned towards the Kaiser. Ken's attention had wavered, and he was now focused on the battle with Dagomon once more. He shouted strategies and words of encouragement to his partner, and for a split second it wasn't the Kaiser that Takeru saw; it was merely another Chosen Child fighting for the greater good.

Takeru frowned in thought. He mumbled to himself, "The enemy of my enemy…"

"Takeru?" Patamon interrupted his thoughts.

He looked back to his partner at the sound of his name. He raised his D3, ready to fight against the evil that now threatened Hikari. The light exploded from his palm with fury as it signaled for an evolution.

* * *

The doorway to the apartment opened with a loud screech. Mummymon and Archnemon let themselves inside. They had expected Vamdemon's immediate appearance; that he would order them to be gone from his sight or perhaps even send them off for a third child, but the dwelling they entered was oddly silent. Yet even amongst this silence there was still something to hear. The first thing that caught there attention were the footsteps from outside in the hallway. Several humans had left their apartments and walked by their door. When the footsteps faded, the sound that replaced them was the loud humming of Oikawa's laptop computer. The sounds of the wind clashing against the closed windows met their ears as well. And the final, most important thing they heard was the sound of a man's labored breathing.

Mummymon immediately rushed towards the computer room. He shoved the door open, and looked around inside. He saw Oikawa lying on the ground, flat on his back. His chest rose up and down steadily. His eyes remained closed, the strain over his face very obvious. His limbs would twitch randomly. The man had been greatly weakened.

"Oikawa-san!" Mummymon dropped down to him, helping the man into a sitting position against a nearby wall.

Archnemon stepped into the room, surveying first Oikawa and Mummymon, and then the computer. She moved towards it, her eyes fixed on the laptop screen. She sneered in anger, "The Digital Gate opened again; Vamdemon went through."

"What do we do about him?" Mummymon asked, referring to the human he supported with his arms.

Oikawa mumbled in his sleep, "Vamdemon… don't leave… take me with you."

"You stupid fool," Archnemon said, bending her knees and kneeling down to their level, "You made a deal with the devil and now you're paying for it. Perhaps you do deserve to die…"

The human's eyes briefly opened. His voice came out tired and worn, "Archnemon… help me…"

She sighed, rising up to full length. She spoke, "We have to move him. Vamdemon might come back, and he won't survive a battle in this condition. Then again we probably won't either. We've got to get away from here."

Mummymon rose to his feet, cradling the full grown man in both arms. He looked to Archnemon, and nodded. They prepared to depart.

* * *

The second Holy Angemon had joined the battle Takeru was once again upon the former Kaiser. He didn't want to leave Hikari alone with only her partner, but it was a necessity; he wanted answers and he was determined to have the Kaiser give them to him, "Just who is this Dagomon?"

"A Digimon from the dark world," Ken answered. His sight hadn't left the battle overhead. DinoBeemon had been fairing well by himself, but he hadn't managed to land any decent blows to his opponent. He wouldn't admit it, but he was glad to see another perfect joining the fray.

"The dark world," Takeru repeated. He thought about that; about the beach and creatures of shadow that Hikari claimed were calling out to her. Taichi had claimed Ken had been her rescuer. He looked to Ken with hard eyes, "You found her there, didn't you?"

"Yes," Ken said.

"_Excalibur_!" the sound of Holy Angemon pierced through the air as he moved in with the attack; his blade of holy energy charging upwards from his forearm. Another of Dagomon's appendages burst apart into data as Holy Angemon slashed through them one by one during his charge towards the Dark God. The blade connected with a powerful strike against what remained of the defensive walls of the floating fortress. A dust cloud formed from the erupting explosion, and the fortress at last began to drop towards the island, taking Dagomon down below with it.

Ken noticed it immediately, and sped off to the side. He rammed into Takeru, grabbing him by the arm and began pulling him along as he ran to escape the incoming crash. Takeru was barely able to keep pace; he shouted to Ken, "Why did they take her there? What did they want with her?"

Ken ignored him; the Chosen hadn't yet realized their situation. He shouted for his partner, "DinoBeemon, move Hikari!"

The insect Digimon left the battle, and Ken could only hope his partner had heard his call. Takeru pulled him to a stop; he turned around and looked desperately for Hikari and Salamon. The falling fortress then finally came to a stop as it clashed with the earth below. The force of the impact sent dust into the air and sent both Takeru and Ken falling backwards towards the ground.

Ken heaved himself up into a sitting position first. He glared upwards at Dagomon. The Dark God arose from the wreckage, stepping out of the ruined building and resuming his attack on Holy Angemon. Ken coughed, and then spat, trying to clear the dirt from his throat. He could hear Takeru rising up from his fall, and he spoke to the Chosen at his side whilst he continued to stare down Dagomon without forgiveness, "He used her; he wanted an army, and he wanted her to give it to him. His minions… they were using her for mass breeding."

"What did you just say…?" Takeru was in disbelief.

"You heard me," Ken replied with a cringe, "Don't make me repeat it."

"That monster… I can barely believe this…" Takeru breathed, staring hard at where the fortress had fallen. He was crunched over on his knees, and he angrily slammed a fist against the ground. He looked desperately for any sign of Hikari as the dust around him settled. He found Dagomon battling with Holy Angemon and DinoBeemon to the side, each of the two melee flyers dodging attacks and attempting to counter when they saw fit to do so, but there was no trace of either Hikari or Salamon. If DinoBeemon had failed to save them like Ken had asked…

Had Takeru failed to save her yet again?

"Do you see her anywhere?" Ken asked.

He couldn't reply. His tears were forming, and he was completely lost in his worry, "No… Hikari-chan…"

* * *

The wind blazed around Vamdemon's frame. He stood confidently in the air. The Kaiser's old towers continued to arrive and began surrounding him in a rapidly spinning tornado of darkness. He controlled them with but a mere thought. When at last enough of the towers had reached him, they enclosed upon him, one atop the other, one to the side of another, and slowly began blocking all sources of light from reaching him as they formed a cocoon around the vampire lord. He smiled triumphantly as the last traces of light faded from his view and were replaced by complete darkness. It was within this new shell that he would be born again.

"This world… all worlds…" he murmured to himself.

And then the towers began dissipating. They broke apart, at first one at a time, but soon many more began to as well, all their data flowing towards the center… towards Vamdemon. The darkness engulfed him, and he embraced it.

"Taichi," WarGreymon spoke, "This is not looking good."

They had arrived on the scene; had followed the dark tower towards the epicenter, holding behind just enough distance to avoid being devolved by its dark energies. They fully knew that Vamdemon would be there, but what they were now witnessing in the distance was beyond anything they had expected. The towers had surrounded Vamdemon while they still flew towards their destination. Now the sphere of darkness floated high into the air where it remained. It released a glowing pulse of twilight energy with an alarming consistently.

Taichi's brows creased with fury, "Hurry forwards, WarGreymon. We've got to get there in time and stop Vamdemon from completing whatever it is he's planning."

In response the ultimate flew onwards with renewed speed, his partner still on his back, gripping hard against his shield plates. When at last they had neared, he dropped to the ground to let Taichi off. He looked up towards the sphere of dark towers in the air. With a grunt he charged up an attack against it, "_Gaia Force_!"

WarGreymon released the built up energy; the orange fiery ball traveled towards its target, and just before it made contact… the sphere exploded in a burst of smoke and particles. WarGreymon's attack entered the smoke, and flew out the other end.

Taichi stared upwards. As the air began to clear, it revealed to him a Digimon he had never before seen. The demonic Digimon appeared within the center of the debris, with a body of pale white armor and a powerful tail that whipped against the air. Long arms stretched down his sides and ended with alien claws. Twin cannons with demonic faces of their own were mounted aboard the tips of his shoulder blades. Had Taichi not known who to be expecting, the bat-like wings along with the blood-red mask and the unruly blond hair would have surely told him otherwise.

The creature snarled down at them, flashing them with razor sharp teeth. Before either Taichi or WarGreymon could react to him, the twin cannons opened and shot, "_Pandemonium Flare_!"

WarGreymon moved to take the full front of the blow; he barely managed to pull out his shield plates as he moved himself towards Taichi in order to protect his Chosen. The blast slammed against him, the force pushing hard against him and sending both Digimon and Chosen flying backwards.

Taichi struggled to regain his footing. He stood up dazed, looking about. WarGreymon lay panting next to him. He could hear his partners pained breathing as he spoke, "Is that… Vamdemon?"

"Yagami," the creature howled at them from above, "I am now much more than you had ever thought possible. It is just as well that you are here, ready for me to destroy you; and with you gone there will be nothing in this world – or any world – that will be able to stop me."

"You're wrong," Taichi shouted to him as WarGreymon rose to his feet, "We will stop you and when we do, we'll make sure you don't get a fourth chance."

"Insolent child! Behold the wrath of Belial Vamdemon!" he raised both arms upwards, and released a stream of darkness towards the sky above him. It erupted in the air, and the darkness spread about the sky, covering up the starlit night.

WarGreymon charged towards him up into the air. Belial Vamdemon merely smiled. Yagami and his Digimon mattered no longer; the process had already begun.

* * *

Kido Jyou was getting annoyed. There were too many chiefs and not enough Indians. Panic, panic, and more panic – he could picture all the other Chosen Children running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Wasn't this supposed to be Taichi's job? It was bad enough that Vamdemon was apparently back, according to the message on his D-Terminal, but it was by far worse that everybody had their own little plan with how to handle this mess. The first mail had arrived when he had first stepped off the bus, and within the next several minutes more had followed with the same news yet completely different plans of action.

The first mail came from Takeru. Vamdemon was back and Takeru was calling an emergency meeting at Koushiro's.

The second message was from Koushiro only a few minutes after. He had requested Jyou get together with Sora and meet with the others at base of the apartment complex where Miyako, Iori, and Takeru lived. This one brought forth the first bout of confusion for Jyou; he couldn't figure out whether the plans had changed or if Takeru and Koushiro had simply not yet made contact with the other and had both made their own approaches to the matter.

The third one that followed came almost immediately after the second. It was from Daisuke; he was sending out yet another global message to the Chosen that Vamdemon was back and was after Taichi. He was calling for everyone to meet up at the Yagami residence.

Jyou stood in silence out in the street while he reread all three messages. He rubbed at his forehead in plain annoyance. Where was Taichi in all this? Hadn't they long ago agreed that he would be the leader and that it would fall upon him to make all the decisions? He began writing back to the others, trying to figure out what was happening. Regardless of their good intentions, if Vamdemon was alive again this was not the proper time to be so disorganized.

"Jyou-sempai!" he heard Sora call out to him.

He turned to face her; she was running up to him. It was then that a fourth message appeared at his D-Terminal. His eyes widened when he read it; he could feel the blood rushing to his face. Sora slowed from her jog and came to a stop beside him. She followed his stare towards his D-Terminal and took a look; she too had gotten the same messages from Koushiro, Takeru, and Daisuke and was trying to piece together the puzzle, but when she looked over the new one, the same shock overwhelmed her as well.

It had come from Hikari.

* * *

"Get a hold of yourself, you fool!" Ken scowled at the Chosen Child beside him, "You want to protect Hikari? Then the first thing you've got to do is stop whining and destroy Dagomon."

"Easy for you to say," Takeru snapped, "Taichi… Taichi-san trusted me with her… and who knows where she is, if she's even still alive…"

Ken's fist connected with his face, "Then we can search for her after Dagomon is defeated."

"What do you know about any of this?" Takeru hit him back, "You're just in this for your own selfish reasons; Dagomon's riding your old base and you want revenge."

"That's not it!" Ken tackled the Chosen to the ground, "It's my fault! I decided to play a game I didn't fully understand! I decided I was going to rescue a damsel-in-distress and free myself from it! I decided it would be better to prove my superiority by enslaving Dagomon rather than destroying him outright! I'm doing this for everyone else as much as I'm doing it for myself. I want to fix things! I want to fix everything."

Takeru stared up into Ken's watery eyes from his place flat on the ground. Tears were now streaming down the Kaiser's face. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. His gaze shifted to the battle overhead as Ken rolled off him. He didn't want to continue seeing the other boy cry. He came up to a sitting position, his eyes not leaving Dagomon. Finally, he spoke, "I'm sorry… you're right. Whatever it is you did wrong, I'm sorry for calling you out on it."

The ground shook from the nearby battle. The darkness was spreading fast above in the sky, and the emerging fog was becoming denser and thicker. Ken frowned, "Apology accepted. I'm sorry, too. There are things I should've realized a lot sooner; about this world, about the Chosen, and even about myself."

Takeru nodded. He rose to his feet, gripping hard against his D3. He shouted to his partner, "Holy Angemon! We have to end this! We have to find Hikari-chan and help Taichi-san deal with Vamdemon!"

Holy Angemon cringed as another one of Dagomon's muscular tentacle limbs connected hard against his chest, swatting him away as if he were a mere pest. He came to a stop as he managed to regain his balance high up in the air. DinoBeemon hovered nearby him. The insect Digimon spoke, "I think it's about time we tried to tag-team this guy. Going solo hasn't been working for us so far."

"Got any ideas?" Holy Angemon grunted.

"Yeah," DinoBeemon said, "Incapacitate his arms."

The energy blade materialized upon his forearm once again. Holy Angemon flashed it against the thick air as he grinned triumphantly, "I've got the perfect plan."

* * *

WarGreymon roared with anger at Belial Vamdemon as he moved to dodge his claws. When the dark vampire had swung against thin air, he turned again towards him and used his Dramon Killers to strike back. They slashed at Belial Vamdemon's forearm, causing a slight dent against the pale white armor and little else.

"Once I've dealt with you," Belial Vamdemon taunted, throwing his arm backwards and slamming it against WarGreymon, "I'll rip your human apart!"

The ultimate was tossed away into the air by Belial Vamdemon. The cannons upon the vampire's shoulders opened up and he shot his attack against the dazed Digimon. The blast of energy tore through the air as it sped towards WarGreymon, "_Pandemonium Flare_!"

Taichi shouted to his partner from below, "Look out!"

WarGreymon barely had time to step out of the path of the destructive ray. The blast passed by him, missing by mere inches and faded off into the darkened sky. He immediately turned back to face Belial Vamdemon and attempted his counter. He flew towards the dark ultimate, spinning rapidly into a mobile tornado and drilled into the Vampire Lord's side.

Belial Vamdemon howled in pain, but made no mistake in allowing the draconic Digimon to attack again. His back limb snapped to attention and with a flick of his tail he knocked away WarGreymon. His energy cannons locked on him again, and let loose another energy strike.

WarGreymon brought forth his shield plates and deflected the attack. He then charged up his own. His hands raised in the air, collecting energy into a massive strike. The air around him crackled from the surge of power, and at last he released the attack, "_Gaia Force_!"

The attack connected. It exploded into a burst of smoke upon impact. He could hear Belial Vamdemon roaring in anger. WarGreymon moved to proceed with his offensive, flying in towards the smoke, his Dramon Killers glinting.

An arm shot out of the grey cloud, crashing hard against WarGreymon's Dramon Killers. The armored gloved claws detached themselves from his forearms due to the force of the contact; the blades broke apart and fell towards the ground. A swipe from behind came, Belial Vamdemon's tail twirling around WarGreymon's neck and then tightening the grip.

The vampire lord smirked as he held the ultimate in his grasp. WarGreymon's arms had risen towards his neckline, trying desperately to pull against the tail that held him. He began to choke from the hold. Belial Vamdemon moved his hand towards the dragonic Digimon's torso, scraping up and down against it with his claws in amusement. Just as he moved his arm back again to acquire more momentum for the killing blow, he felt his arm lock in place… and it began to _burn_.

He roared in frustration, looking backwards in desperation for the cause of the pain. An orange light had encased his arm like a rope. It held it in place in much the same way he currently held WarGreymon. He trailed the torturous thread down to the ground below.

Taichi held his Digivice upwards, towards the sky, towards the battle. His brows creased with fury and determination once again. He released the power dormant in him from three years past, locking onto the dark ultimate and holding him in place.

"WarGreymon," Taichi called to his partner, "Are you alright?"

His partner didn't reply. He lay limp against Belial Vamdemon's hold, his hands fallen to his sides. Taichi frowned. He held Belial Vamdemon locked down for now, but he wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer. He needed Yamato and the others. As much as Taichi wanted to believe he could've finished this himself, he realized that his defeat was currently inevitable. The orange color that had engulfed his Digivice was already beginning to fade.

"_Holy Arrow_!" the voice announced from behind him.

The projectile connected with Belial Vamdemon's tail, forcing the hold he held on WarGreymon with it to waver and releasing the draconic Digimon. With nothing holding him in the air, WarGreymon fell to the ground, his body limp. A soft glow surrounded him, and the power of his evolution faded from him.

Taichi gasped. He let his Digivice drop, the orange hold vaporizing, and dashed towards his partner as he fell from the sky. He caught Koromon in his arms, and looked back to his savior. Angewomon appeared out of the fog, her bow sprung and another arrow ready to fire.

"Oniichan!" his sister called from below her partner, and he ran up to her.

"Hikari!" he berated her, "Why are you here?"

"We came to help you," she frowned at him.

Laughter echoed from above them. Belial Vamdemon grinned widely, "And so the Child of Light returns… how magnificent it is that you've saved me the trouble of hunting you down. I shall greatly appreciate this…"

* * *

Inoue Miyako tapped her foot against the ground impatiently. She looked to her wristwatch yet again, and mumbled to her companions, "Just where are they already? Koushiro says meet here, and none of them show up."

"Calm down, Miyako-san," Iori frowned, "I'm sure they will arrive soon."

"Perhaps we should head over to Izumi-san?" Hawkmon said.

"No," Miyako spoke briskly, "Koushiro-kun told us to meet here; I e-mailed Takeru about his message and he hasn't responded, so we're staying here."

"Oi! Miyako!" she turned to the sound and saw Daisuke and V-mon rushing up to her. She would have waved them over, but her arm froze when she noticed that they seemed to be disappearing from her view. The two came to a stop, almost as if the same blur had dampened their own vision as well. The thickness of the fog spread, and soon was completely preventing Miyako from seeing either of them. She turned to Iori; he too was barely visible. The younger boy had frozen stiff. He inched towards her carefully, aware of what might be lurking in the shadows. Their D3's flashed to life, illuminating a protective aura over them.

"Daisuke!" she shouted into the fog, "Can you hear me?"

"Miyako-san," Iori whispered to her harshly, "Don't make any sounds; we don't want to bring any attention to our location."

"A wise plan," Hawkmon said.

Armadimon pointed off into the fog, "True, but it don't look like he's following it."

"Are you guys alright?" Daisuke's voice came. His outline broke through the mist, mounted on Lighdramon. Lighdramon's horn flashed bright blue with electric sparks in an attempt to signal through the fog, "I don't think Koushiro will be able to find us in this, are the D-Terminal's working?"

Miyako flipped hers open, and stared at the blank screen. The electronic device was as good as dead. She frowned then, staring off into the dampening air, "Just what is going on?"

* * *

Dagomon roared against the rising darkness, "Vamdemon succeeds where others have failed! You are fools to continue to fight! You mortals dare believe to yourselves capable of defeating a God?"

Holy Angemon taunted from his place in the air, "Mortal? Speak for yourself. I'm an angel; no mortal here."

The Dark God snarled. He charged towards his opponent, letting fly his tentacle arms through the air for the attack.

Holy Angemon remained where he was. When at last the tentacle appendages neared, he pressed his energy blade forward, slashing up and around in a full circle. A rip opened in the air, and pulled Dagomon's arms inwards, adding more pressure towards their current forward momentum.

Dagomon hissed loudly as the Holy Gate began pulling him inwards. He struggled against it, his strong and sturdy legs planting themselves firmly against the ground and he began pulling away in a tug-of-war with the Gateway.

"_Hell Masquerade_!" DinoBeemon announced from behind him. He charged forth, splitting into two, then into four, and then into eight copies of himself. Each one slammed roughly against Dagomon's back, lifting him off the ground and into the air. With no support and a hard shove forwards, his strength left him and the Gate continued to pull him inwards.

"No!" the Dark God shouted uselessly as the Holy Gate closed down upon him and swallowed him whole.

* * *

The air was thick; it blurred her vision immensely. Taichi stood nearby, grasping her tightly with one arm while he held Koromon with the other. Despite her brother being so close, not even he was clearly visible. Angewomon was nearby; she floated overhead protectively. Hikari had no doubt her partner's vision was as impaired as her own. She shuddered nervously; she wouldn't have been able to even see her partner were it not for the soft pink glow that Angewomon radiated, which only meant they would have little idea as to where Belial Vamdemon had vanished until he sprung from the shadows.

Belial Vamdemon was creating yet another world of darkness much like the one she had been kept captive in. The thought of the Digital World remaining like this forever scared her. She inched herself closer to her brother.

Angewomon frowned overhead. Her six bright white wings spread about, holding her up in the air. She could feel Belial Vamdemon lurking nearby. She could feel his movements… there! She let loose the arrow she'd been holding. It erupted nearby with a burst of holy energy, having found its target.

Despite the direct contact, it did little to defer the dark ultimate. Belial Vamdemon leaped out from the shadows, colliding with Angewomon and knocking her out of the sky. She landed hard against the ground, Belial Vamdemon's claws digging deep into her flesh, and she screamed.

Hikari felt Taichi's grip tighten against her at the sound. She cried out to her partner, desperately wanting to run up to her, "Angewomon!"

Belial Vamdemon scoffed at the Digimon in his grasp, "The prophecies dare to claim that you would be the one to defeat me?"

"You will… die by my hands," Angewomon's words came through her teeth from the pain. A soft pink aura surrounded her body, the force building up and blinding Belial Vamdemon. The glow then burst into an escalation of holy powers.

"Strong words, Tailmon," he hissed in reply, injured but still upon her. His armor stung from the explosion, slightly burned; he forced himself to ignore the pain, "But it won't be enough to save you."

Any response she might have had was interrupted by Belial Vamdemon; he lifted her up with one arm, clutching her by the throat, and then squeezed. She felt her body spasm upon his grasp, and curiously he then stopped, as if in thought. He mused to himself, "Hum, I do wonder, where is your little girl? I would so like for her to see you die."

"You won't get your wish, Vamdemon," Hikari's voice broke through. She stepped out of the darkened fog along with her brother; a bright white light illuminated from her. She held Taichi's hand in one arm, her D3 in the other. She then spoke again, "Release my partner, and perhaps your death will be merciful."

Belial Vamdemon let out a hoarse laugh, "A rather amusing child you are."

She took another step forward. The darkness began to dissipate around her. The fog was clearing, the mist evaporating, the dark clouds in the sky fading. She looked up into the starlit night sky… and finally saw home once again.

* * *

Takeru snapped to attention. The darkness on File Island was receding. He recognized the emanating power that was pushing it back, "She's alive…"

"What is it, Takeru?" Patamon asked as he flew down to his partner.

Takeru didn't reply; he merely raised his D3 high up into the air towards the familiarity of the source, and a beam of light shot out towards it.

"C'mon, Ken," he encouraged the other.

Ken blinked in confusion beside him, but did as requested. He, too, raised his D3 and released the energy from it.

* * *

"It's Hikari-san," Koushiro said, pointing up. He could see both her and Taichi confronting another Digimon. The Digimon was unrecognizable to him, but he had a gut feeling he knew exactly who it was.

Yamato frowned beside him. The two had met up with Jyou and Sora, and all four Digimon partners were present as well, but what did it matter if they were unable to get to a Digital Gate in time? They were in the middle of the city, and the Digital World had opened up once again atop the midnight sky. He did the only thing he could think of: he raised his Digivice into the air, and its energy exploded as it traveled vertically towards the heavens.

The three other Chosen beside him needed no further words to accomplish the same.

* * *

From New York, towards the morning sky, Mimi held her own Digivice up high, the majestic energies flowing through and from it.

Palmon stood proudly by her side.

* * *

"Hikari-chan…" Daisuke breathed out in disbelief. He stared upwards into the sky, where the Digital World appeared and replaced the dense mists that had prior been surrounding the city.

"Daisuke, what's going on?" Lighdramon asked of his Chosen.

"It's just like three years ago…" Iori said.

"That must be Vamdemon," Daisuke said. He then turned to face the others, "We have to go help! I can see Taichi-san over there, too!"

Miyako nodded, raising her fist in determination, "Right!"

Iori interrupted them, "Look!"

A short distance away, four beams of light shot out from the ground and flew upwards towards the Digital World in the sky. Iori recognized the various colors from the elder Chosen's evolutions, "Its Jyou-san and the others."

"What're they doing?" Armadimon wondered.

Iori took out his D3. He looked it over thoughtfully. Without a second opinion, he raised it up towards the sky and released energy of his own.

"Whoa, that's pretty cool," Daisuke said as he and Miyako repeated the action.

* * *

"I won't let the darkness corrupt yet another world," Hikari spoke, "The darkness must be destroyed. I will not allow for anyone else to suffer what I have suffered; and for that, you must cease to exist."

"Foolish child," Belial Vamdemon said, "And how do you plan on defeating me?"

Hikari answered, "Despite the attempts of Dagomon's minions to further siphon the power of my crest from me, it has by now been fully replenished; as have the crests of the other Chosen. The better question, Vamdemon, is how do you plan on defeating us?"

The bright aura erupted from Hikari; her entire protective shield of holy energies flew off into the sky and met with the light of the other Chosen Children. She immediately went limp and collapsed into her brothers arms. Taichi held her. He looked upwards, recognizing the colors of the other Chosen, and similarly raised his own Digivice, letting lose his own orange stream of light to join the combined powers of the others.

"What trickery is this?" Belial Vamdemon howled in pain. In self defensive instinct, he raised his arm which held Angewomon in an attempt to use her to block out the oncoming light. The energies of the Chosen Children danced about in the sky, inching ever closer towards Belial Vamdemon and his captive. They burned against the dark ultimate, and soothingly refreshed the angel he held in his arms.

At last the energies came to a halt, and Angewomon sprung back to life. Her wings spread about aggressively, and she turned within Belial Vamdemon's grasp and ruthlessly kicked herself free. She jumped willingly into the sphere of Chosen energy above her… and felt the power overwhelm her.

She announced her new strength, "Angewomon… evolve!"

Out of the light Angewomon emerged as a serpentine creature of elegant rose color. Two grand horns connected backwards from her forehead, and with ten angelic wings she began to descend. She landed on the ground near her Chosen on four sturdy strong legs, leaving her lengthy tail extending far back behind her.

"You will indeed die by my hands," the new form of Holydramon repeated to the stunned vampire ultimate.

Belial Vamdemon cowered upon the sight, stepping backwards and continuing to cover his eyes against the now fading light of evolution. The darkness proceeded to withdraw against him, flowing slowly and steadily back into his form. He shivered with anger, unable to contain himself. He shouted, and charged forward, "No! I won't let it end like this!"

"It's already over, Vamdemon," Taichi spoke; he was knelt down, allowing his sister to rest into his arms.

Holydramon flew to the air as Belial Vamdemon charged at her. His eager claws swung back and forth and his tail rippled excitedly during his sprint. When he neared he took to the air as well, the cannons on his shoulders opening once more, and he let loose his final attack, "_Pandemonium Flare_!"

The majestic dragon twirled in the air, avoiding the blast as it passed by her. Her jaw parted, and from it flew out her own attack in the form of a fire blazing tornado, "_Holy Flame_!"

The holy fires engulfed the vampire lord, leaving only his piercing cry of pain in their wake. When the flames had finally cleared, all that remained were dark particles of data that floated off into the sky.

"Oniichan," Hikari frowned up at her brother from where she lay, "I'm ready to go home now."

* * *

Chapter Notes:  
- The Digital Gate opened the moment Hikari got back her D3. Likewise in the show, when Hikari loses her D3 after being taken by the Dark Ocean the Gate somehow locks; the cause for this is unknown.  
- Tokyo's time zone is 14 hours ahead of New York; the current chapter is occurring late in the evening, therefore assuming it is around 9:00 p.m. or so, Mimi would just be waking up at around 7:00 a.m. when Koushiro would contact her.  
- "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" is the phrase Takeru is referring to. It is a mutual alliance on the grounds of uniting against a common foe.


End file.
